Part II
Heritage Where We Live:
Communities and Conservation

Responsibility for culture is shared by Canada’s federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal governments. The federal government shapes the overall framework for heritage through a network of policies and agencies, and responsibilities for heritage activities are shared with provincial and municipal governments. Provinces and municipalities do not have formal jurisdiction over federal culture policy and programs, but complement federal and provincial initiatives in choosing and maintaining historic sites, developing tourism, and operating programs. This means that most of the pragmatic results of policy, and the presence of heritage in Canada’s communities, result from regional and local activity. The interests of heritage advocates, business people, politicians, and environmentalists are increasingly converging, and there is with a growing interest in creating sustainable communities.

This section of the course looks at specific cases of policy-making and implementation, involving various stakeholders, as well as at broader issues of the role of heritage in community and regional sustainability.