Ottawa, December 16, 2022
New Year, new National Museum Policy
The CMA recently had the opportunity to meet with senior staff at the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) and obtain an update on the development of a new National Museum Policy.
Following the 2022 Museum Policy Survey that was sent to all institutions last October, PCH is now assessing the data in preparation for their next outreach phase that will take place in late January, early February 2023.
Early next year, PCH will be launching a public consultation website to receive community feedback on the NMP. In addition to conducting a series of stakeholder roundtables that will include the CMA and other provincial and territorial museums associations, PCH is planning outreach and engagement with Indigenous heritage organizations.
CMA has offered to provide more relevant detail and advice from the findings associated with the Moved to Action report.
With the Department aiming to bring its recommendations to the minister and subsequently to cabinet sometime in the fall, only a narrow window is available to the sector to successfully advocate for a robust National Museum Policy.
While the CMA has been calling for a new museums policy for years, it also recognizes that getting this policy right is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. And while a federal policy statement on museums is of critical importance, equally important will be ensuring that the tools and resources — legislative, programmatic and financial — to implement it are in place, or at a minimum, have been identified and a commitment to their implementation exists.
We have expressed to PCH that renewed investment and sector support strategies along with integration of the foundational tenets of Moved to Action will need to be a central part of this new policy.
Coordinating advocacy on this with the provincial and territorial museums associations and enlisting the voice and support of the entire community will be of primary importance to the CMA in the new year. We hope you will add your voice to ours!
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