Improved HPI Site and Standards and Guidelines

The Government of Canada officially launched two new tools. According to the press release:

Ottawa, Ontario, February 25, 2011--The Honourable Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, launched today two important conservation tools to better care for Canada’s historic places: the improved Canadian Register of Historic Places; and the second edition of the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.

“Our Government is proud of the leadership role we play in the protection of Canada’s historic places,” said Minister Kent. “The excellent collaboration between Parks Canada and its provincial and territorial partners has enabled us to create these two important tools which will provide citizens with a new source of vital information about historic places in Canada.”

These two tools are hosted on the Canada’s Historic Places web site (www.historicplaces.ca) and administered by Parks Canada. The improved features of the web site provide additional content to enable Canadians to learn about, value, enjoy and conserve the country's historic places.

Read the full press release here

Read the backgrounder here

Historicplaces.ca Website Update

The Canadian Register of Historic Places found at www.historicplaces.ca has updated its website.

The new site has a new sleek design and will increasing add new features.

HRC HPI Program gets mention in the HPI Report on Results

Parks Canada has prepared a report on the Results of the Historic Places Initiative.

The University of Waterloo, Heritage Resources Centre's HPI Team received a mention:

Post-secondary education

Post-secondary, professional and trades groups have also used HPI resources to foster the education of a new generation of skilled heritage workers. These initiatives were undertaken after a 2005 study sponsored by the Cultural Human Resources Council and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada identified a need to support heritage conservation activities. Other partners have ranged from the Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society and the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, who collaborated to release a new directory of heritage conservation-related services, to Alberta's Athabasca University, which developed an internship program in historical resources. Several training programs for trades professionals traditionally engaged in the heritage field have integrated the Standards and Guidelines into their existing curricula. Ontario universities, including Carleton University, Brock University and the University of Waterloo, have implemented programs engaging their students with local communities in the nomination of historic places to the Canadian Register.