[BCMA] Fwd: Update: Federal support for heritage may be coming

Tue Feb 13 12:29:11 PST 2018

Hello everyone,

I am forwarding on this important advocacy update and call to action from
Heritage BC and the National Trust.  Read below for information about
advocating for built heritage with your elected federal government
representatives and how to join Heritage BC's work in this area.

Thanks to Heritage BC Executive Director Paul Gravett for working on this
initiative and sharing with the BCMA community!

Ben

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Gravett <pgravett at heritagebc.ca>
Date: Tue, Feb 13, 2018 at 12:16 PM
Subject: Update: Federal support for heritage may be coming
To: Paul Gravett <pgravett at heritagebc.ca>

Greetings,

Heritage BC has been working with the National Trust to keep heritage front
and centre as the federal government considers its role in protecting
heritage.

You may remember we asked you to voice your support for Bill C-323. BC
spoke up strongly (more than any other province, so I am told), but the
Bill was eventually defeated.

However, the House of the Commons Standing Committee on Environment and
Sustainable Development (ENVI) recently released the report: Preserving
Canada’s Heritage: The Foundation for Tomorrow (found here
<http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ENVI/report-10/page-5>). This
report is being met with great interest from heritage organizations,
volunteers, charities, professionals, provincial, territorial and municipal
policymakers, and property owners who invest in or care for heritage places
in British Columbia and across Canada.

There is great potential in the report and Heritage BC continues to bring
attention to its important recommendations. Today, *we wrote to all BC
Members of Parliament *asking them to take action. (More details are found
below.)

We are now asking you to help this effort. It is important our voices are
heard, so that we may maintain the visibility of heritage at this critical
time.

Please meet with or write to your Member of Parliament. You will find your
MP’s contact information here
<http://www.ourcommons.ca/parliamentarians/en/constituencies/Constituencies/FindMP?textCriteria=british%20columbia>
.

If you are writing, the Trust has already prepared sample letters for you.
To make your letter more powerful, include information about endangered
heritage in your federal constituency. The template letters can be
downloaded with these links:

   - Liberal MP
   <https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Letter-for-meeting-Liberal-MP-Final.docx>
   - Conservative MP
   <https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Letter-for-meeting-Conservative-MP-Final.docx>
   - NDP MP
   <https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Letter-for-meeting-NDP-MP-Final.docx>

If you are meeting with your MP, you will find tips to help you here
<https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Tips-for-Meeting-With-Your-MPs.pdf>
and
here
<https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Heritage-Sector-PPT-for-MP-Meetings-Jan-2018_E.pptx>
.

Finally, please share this information with your colleagues. The Members of
Parliament across the parties have taken notice of heritage. This is a
critical time when we must remind our federal politicians of the
contributions of heritage in your communities.

Thank you for your efforts. Please let me know what action you take and we
will report back to the National Trust.

Best regards,

Paul

Paul Gravett

Executive Director

Heritage BC

*SAMPLE LETTER AND INFORMATION*

*Subject: Request to Meet - Key Implications for [Insert your riding here]
of ENVI Report #10, Preserving Canada’s Heritage: The Foundation for
Tomorrow *

Dear [Insert MP’s name here]:

I am writing in response to the House of the Commons Standing Committee on
Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) report Preserving Canada’s
Heritage: The Foundation for Tomorrow.

This report is being met with great interest from heritage organizations,
volunteers, charities, professionals, provincial, territorial and municipal
policymakers, and property owners who invest in or care for heritage places
in British Columbia and across Canada.

In the course of the study, the Committee heard that historic places are
more than just touchstones of history and identity: heritage places are
instrumental in building the economy of tomorrow, creating skilled, green
jobs for young people, and growing the middle class. Further, as a member
of a party that has championed substantial initiatives on the environment
and climate change, you will know that the renewal and re-use of buildings
capitalizes on materials and energy already invested, reduces construction
and demolition waste, and avoids the carbon and other environmental impacts
associated with new development.

Heritage-related tourism is estimated to bring to British Columbia nearly
$32 million dollars each year. This, in turn, generates nearly $57 million
dollars in further spending and contributions, including $27 million
dollars to BC’s GDP. A further $5.5 million dollars is transferred to
municipal, provincial and federal governments as taxes.

Heritage extends beyond these impressive numbers. It represents legacy and
meaning, which contribute to the economy, social well-being and the
revitalization of our province’s communities. Heritage provides
understanding, training and education of our history. It describes and
defines British Columbia’s identity and past, while shaping and informing
our future.

We can find examples of these values in every corner of B.C. The
rejuvenation of the North Pacific Cannery, a national historic site and
museum and legacy of BC’s fisheries identity, supported jobs creation in a
remote community and developed a workforce with specialized, transferrable
skills.

A train station in Dunster, located in the Robson Valley and brought back
to life by tradespeople and volunteers, is now a local hub of commerce and
community. The rehabilitation of Rocheleau Cottage, in the historic
Francophone community of Maillardville, has led to much-needed family
housing and densification in an urban setting.

Preserving Canada’s Heritage contains a comprehensive set of 17
recommendations for action that would transform Canada’s historic places,
their owners and stewards, and the people who care about them – whether
they are in the hands of governments or Band Councils, private sector
owners, not-for-profit organizations or charities.   The Report also
contains many laudable recommendations to get the federal house in order
and to show national leadership through exemplary handling of the federal
government’s own heritage property portfolio.

Over 1,000 Canadians have already endorsed the following statement of
priorities for federal action on historic places, and more continue to sign
on:

I* II request that priority be given to measures that would have the most
tangible and immediate positive impact for the greatest number of rural and
urban places in Canada, and a proven spin-off effect for the environment
and our economy:

   1.

   Measures that would encourage private sector investment in the
   revitalization of historic places that matter in our communities; and
   2.

   Measures that help fund the efforts of Indigenous peoples, charities and
   not-for-profits to save and renew places of significance.

Proven measures include grants and contributions, tax-based incentives, and
"heritage first" leasing and investment policies.

Accordingly, we urge you to take action on the corresponding
recommendations found in Preserving Canada’s Heritage:

   -

   Recommendation 11 – Establishing a tax credit for the restoration and
   preservation of buildings listed on the Canadian Register of Historic
   Places;
   -

   Recommendation 10 –  Funding for the National Cost-Sharing Program for
   Heritage Places to a minimum of $10 million per year;
   -

   Recommendations 15 & 17 – Supporting an Indigenous-led initiative to
   protect and preserve places important to them, including the legacy of
   residential schools; and
   -

   Recommendation 8 – Requiring federal departments/agencies to give
   preference to existing heritage buildings when considering leasing or
   purchasing space.

We also point out that Recommendation 11, calling for income tax measures
for historic places, represents an opportunity to incentivize investment in
historic places without a negative impact on the Government’s financial
framework.  As reported in the ENVI study, the US Federal Historic
Preservation Tax Incentives Program returns between $1.20 and $1.25 to the
federal government for every dollar of tax credit invested.  Such measures
have long-standing widespread support in Canada: from the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities; the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada; 58
Canadian municipalities who passed resolutions or expressed support for
federal income tax measures for historic places; and hundreds of
individuals who have written letters and met with their MPs.

Recommendation 11 is consistent with the Liberal Party of Canada’s
willingness to consider financial incentives for historic places, expressed
in an October 2015 pre-election message to the heritage sector.  Responding
to written questions from the National Trust for Canada, Liberal Party
president Anna Gainey wrote: “A Liberal government will work in
collaboration with the heritage sector and other stakeholders to examine
measures that promote the preservation and rehabilitation of Canada’s
heritage buildings.  We are open to measures that use the tax system that
stimulate private investments in heritage buildings.”

Support for federal tax measures for Canada’s historic places was echoed in
ENVI’s Report #9 – Bill C-323 – An Act to amend the Income Tax Act
(rehabilitation of historic property):  “The Committee is supportive of the
principle of Bill C-323 and believes that financial incentives, including
tax credits, which encourage investment in the rehabilitation of historic
properties and heritage places is necessary […]”

We encourage you to support the investment in the revitalization of
historic places (particularly tax-based incentives and grants/contributions
), and to fund the efforts of Indigenous peoples, charities, and
not-for-profits to save and regenerate places of significance in your
riding.

Thank you for your consideration of these important issues.

Yours sincerely,

-- 
*Ben Fast*
Programs and Member Services Coordinator

BC Museums Association || 675 Belleville Street  || Victoria, BC || V8W 9W2

Office: 250-356-5700 <(250)%20356-5700>  || www.museumsassn.bc.ca
Direct Twitter: @benfaster <https://twitter.com/benfaster> Twitter:
@BCMuseumsAssn <http://www.twitter.com/BCMuseumsAssn> Facebook:
BCMuseumsAssn <https://www.facebook.com/BCMuseumsAssn>

*The BCMA is looking for 2018 Webinar hosts!  Consider submitting a webinar
proposal
<http://museumsassn.bc.ca/professional-development/upcoming-events/webinars/host-a-webinar/>.*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20180213/55246c0a/attachment.htm 