section2-11b

Conserve Heritage Resources

Other Heritage Programs

Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office

In accordance with the Treasury Board Policy on Management of Real Property, all government departments must respect and conserve the heritage character of federal buildings throughout their life cycle. Parks Canada administers this policy through the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) and is responsible for coordinating the evaluation of buildings, submitting recommendations for designation to the Minister of the Environment, providing advice and recommendations to custodial departments and maintaining the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings. Through an agreement with Parks Canada, the Heritage Conservation Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) provides technical and architectural expertise to FHBRO through its participation on the Federal Heritage Buildings Committee, its review of proposed interventions to federal heritage buildings on behalf of FHBRO, and by working with FHBRO on the delivery of training on departmental heritage obligations under the Treasury Board policy.

Treasury Board Policy on Management of Real Property requires that departments must arrange for Parks Canada to evaluate all buildings 40 years of age or older in order to protect those which have significant heritage value. The Federal Heritage Buildings Committee, an interdepartmental, multi-disciplinary committee that includes Parks Canada historians and architectural historians, a PWGSC conservation architect, as well as custodial representatives, undertakes evaluations according to criteria that measure historical association, architectural significance and the building’s contribution to its current environment. The Minister of the Environment makes designations (i.e., either Classified, the highest designation, or Recognized the second highest designation).

The number of designations over the last three years is shown in Table 20.

Table 20: Number of Designations of Federal Heritage Buildings

Number	2006-2007	2005-2006	2004-2005
Designated as of April 1	1,344	1,335	1,338
Evaluated during the year	502	476	400
Classified During Year	0	1	4
Recognized During Year	38	28	13
Net Adjustments Designated as of March 31	-35	-20	-20
	1,347	1,344	1,335
Source: Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office data

Parks Canada has evaluated, on average, 459 proposed federal buildings in each of the last three years resulting in an average of 28 designations per year (i.e., 6% of the total number of buildings evaluated). Parks Canada directly administers 5 (or 6%) of these buildings designated in the last three years and is the largest single owner of federal heritage buildings.

Advice and Recommendations Related to Federal Heritage Buildings: Federal departments must seek conservation guidance prior to an intervention affecting a designated federal heritage building. In the case of classified buildings, federal departments must consult the Federal Heritage Building Review Office (FHBRO) managed by Parks Canada. In the case of recognized federal heritage buildings, departments must obtain appropriate heritage advice before undertaking an intervention. It is the responsibility of custodial departments to ensure that the heritage character of their federal heritage buildings is protected throughout the course of an intervention. The FHBRO is not mandated or resourced to monitor the outcome of interventions.

In the three years between April 2003 and March 2006 the FHBRO provided advice and guidance on 337 interventions (i.e., 95, 132, 110 for March 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively). In 2006-2007 advice and guidance was provided on 127 proposed interventions. Sixteen of these involved interventions to buildings owned by Parks Canada.

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