On 11 February 2008, Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Museums Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, was introduced in the House of Commons by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, the Honourable Josée Verner. This bill creates a new Crown corporation called the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and sets out the corporation’s purpose, capacity and powers by amending the Museums Act.(1) Other Acts are also amended to provide for federal funding and to exclude museum material from the jurisdiction of the Access to Information Act(2) and the Privacy Act.(3) The bill also adds the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to the list of federal entities that pay property taxes to municipalities in relation to federally owned real property. Other acts related to the payment of federal employees and their pensions are also amended.
The Museums Act was enacted in 1990 with the purpose of creating four national museums to preserve the heritage of Canada. These four museums – the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian Museum of Nature, and the National Museum of Science and Technology – operate as independent Crown corporations, each having a board of trustees and a board-appointed director who is approved by the Governor in Council. The mandate for each national museum is also detailed in the Museums Act and includes various activities pertaining to the collection of artefacts and museum material; education of the public; research and training; and revenue generation.
Before passage of the Museums Act, Canada’s four national museums were controlled by a single entity, National Museums of Canada.(4) In view of the politicization of the grants process governed by the National Museums of Canada, which hampered decentralization and democratization as recommended in the National Museum Policy,(5) this entity was dissolved in 1990 and replaced by four independently controlled Crown corporations.(6) This reversion to decentralized control is reminiscent of the original administration of museums in Canada. For example, the National Gallery of Canada Act of 1913 governed the National Gallery before National Museums of Canada was established.
Clause 1 amends the Museums Act by expanding the definition of “museum material” to include documentary material of any medium or form. Clause 2 amends the Museums Act by inserting new section 15.1, establishing the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). The CMHR is defined to include any affiliated museums.
Clause 2 amends the Museums Act by inserting new section 15.2, setting out the purpose of the museum. The new section states that the purpose of the museum is to “explore the subject of human rights with a special but not exclusive reference to Canada, in order to enhance the public’s understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others and to encourage reflection and dialogue.”
Clause 2 amends the Museums Act by inserting new section 15.3, which sets out the legal capacity of the CMHR and its powers. These powers are associated with three broad areas: activities directly related to the collection, display and transfer of museum material,(7) activities related to research, education and training,(8) and ancillary activities related to the operation of a museum and revenue generation.(9)
Clause 3 amends the Museums Act by creating a new subsection 23(1.1) to grant the minister the power to recommend the first director of the CMHR to the Governor in Council. The Governor in Council is obligated to appoint the recommended director.
Clause 3 amends the Museums Act by adding to subsection 23(2) the requirement that all reappointed directors be approved by the Governor in Council.
Clause 3 amends the Museums Act by creating a new subsection 23(5.1) to grant the Governor in Council the power to determine, on the recommendation of the minister, the amount of remuneration of the first director.
Clause 4 amends the Museums Act by creating a new section 24.1 to ensure that contracts entered into by the minister on behalf of the CMHR before its completion are still in force after the creation of the CMHR.
Clauses 5 to 13 amend provisions in other Acts to ensure that the CMHR is treated in the same manner as other national museums that are Crown corporations. For example, clauses 5 and 6 amend the Access to Information Act,(10) and clauses 10 and 11 amend the Privacy Act(11) to exempt museum material in the CMHR from the jurisdiction of these acts. Clause 7 amends the Financial Administration Act(12) to include the CMHR in the list of Crown corporations that receive federal funding. Clauses 8 and 9 amend the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act(13) to allow the minister to pay the property taxes on land owned by the CMHR. Clause 12 amends the Public Sector Compensation Act(14) to classify staff of the CMHR as public service employees. Clause 13 amends the Public Service Superannuation Act(15) to include staff of the CMHR in the Public Service pension plan.
Clause 14 indicates that the bill comes into force on a day to be determined by order of the Governor in Council.
The CMHR was originally conceived and established by a charitable family foundation – the Asper Foundation.(16) On 20 April 2007, Prime Minister Harper announced the Government’s intention to provide financial support for the creation and maintenance of the CMHR after sufficient funds for its creation had been raised through the public and private sectors.(17) To date 80% of the necessary funding has been raised.(18) The first national museum to be located outside of the National Capital Region, the CMHR is to be built in Winnipeg. It will house the largest museum gallery in Canada devoted to the subject of the Holocaust.
One of the goals of Canada’s museum policy is to facilitate the access of all Canadians to their cultural heritage.(19) A further objective is to contribute to the enrichment, management and preservation of representative collections in all regions by supporting museological research and development and by providing services throughout the country.(20) The earlier National Museums Corporation was criticized for concentrating national museums in the National Capital Region. The location of the CMHR in Winnipeg addresses this concern.
Another goal of Canada’s museum policy is the decentralization of control through partnerships with other levels of government and with private interest groups.(21) Funding the creation of the CMHR facilities through a public-private partnership, together with the creation of an independent Crown corporation, meets this objective.
One of the few criticisms of the bill is that the first director of the CMHR will be recommended by the minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages rather than by the board of trustees. For all other national museums the director is recommended by the minister-appointed board of trustees. This change in the selection process will thus give the minister the power to appoint both the board of trustees and the director. It is not yet known what effect this change will have on the initial control of the CMHR in comparison with other museums and whether it will affect control of the project and the museum by the Asper Foundation.(22)
© Library of Parliament
