BCMA 2025 Federal Budget Letter

1

Increase Museums Assistance Program (MAP) funding by $1 million per year over the next 5 years to mitigate the impact of inflation while the heritage sector awaits the new National Museum Policy

Museums Assistance Program (MAP) funding has not been adjusted for inflation since its establishment in the 1970s. If MAP funding had kept pace with inflation, funding would be in excess of $100 million annually. As the heritage sector eagerly awaits the modernization of Canada’s National Museum Policy, this increase in MAP funding will help to mitigate the devastating combined impact of unprecedented inflation and a nationwide cool-down of government grants and individual charitable contributions. 

MAP remains the most accessible source of federal funding for museums and is critical if heritage organizations are to invest in emerging technologies, reach new audiences, become greener and more sustainable, tell new, more diverse stories, and take action in supporting the return of Indigenous cultural belongings.

2

Advance the implementation of the UNDRIP Action Plan and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by investing in the co-development of a National Framework on Indigenous Cultural Heritage Rights

As noted in the recent policy paper co-published by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the BCMA, the Government of Canada must live up to its moral and legal obligations to uphold Indigenous Peoples’ rights to interpret, commemorate, and control their heritage by ensuring that modernization of the National Museum Policy aligns with UNDRIP and allied laws and policies developed over the past three decades. This work must include Indigenous Peoples’ full participation and leadership.

To achieve this, the BCMA supports the Canadian Museums Association’s request that the federal government fund the timely establishment of Indigenous-led consultations to co-develop a National Framework for Indigenous Cultural Heritage Rights on a distinction-based comprehensive approach, which will include legislative, programming and/or service measures, to enable the repatriation/rematriation of Indigenous cultural belongings and ancestral remains. The current piecemeal approaches and unpredictable funding levels fail to substantively uphold responsibilities outlined both within the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and Articles 10-12 of UNDRIP.  The establishment of an Indigenous Cultural Heritage Rights Framework is essential to recognize the sovereignty of Indigenous people over Indigenous cultural rights.

3

Increase Young Canada Works (YCW) core funding by an amount equivalent to the recent supplemental funding levels to provide stability and predictability for the program and its beneficiaries in the heritage sector

The Young Canada Works (YCW) program is essential to the functioning of Canada’s museum and heritage sector – it is a vital source of funding that empowers arts, culture, and heritage organizations to hire staff and it allows new generations of cultural workers to build skills and advance in the field. 

We support the Canadian Museums Association in requesting that the government increase YCW core funding by an amount equivalent to the recent supplemental funding levels to provide stability and predictability for the program and its beneficiaries in the heritage sector. While additional funding for small and medium-sized museums in 2007 and supplemental funding since 2016 have been positive steps, the lack of a guaranteed funding formula creates challenges and makes it difficult to plan successful youth employment initiatives in the heritage sector.

The government has clearly shown its commitment to youth employment through programs like Canada Summer Jobs and the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), which includes YCW. To truly reflect this commitment within the heritage sector, YCW needs a stable and predictable funding allocation that reflects the demonstrated need. 

4

Create a one-time investment of $100,000,000 to fund infrastructure improvements, building upgrades, and climate change mitigation measures for arts, culture, and heritage organizations

In 2021, British Columbia lost two museums in Lytton to a devastating wildfire. Four months later, unprecedented flooding in BC threatened dozens of institutions in the same area. In 2022, aerial fire suppressants nearly damaged irreplaceable Indigenous heritage sites. In 2023, the Province of BC experienced its worst fire season in recorded history, until that record was broken in 2024. By the time you read this letter, there is a very real chance that more of our communities’ arts, culture, and heritage have been destroyed. Every single museum, gallery, and heritage site in Canada is at risk of devastating losses due to the effects of climate change and if we hope to preserve our collective heritage for future generations, we must take action now.

In 2021 and 2022, the Province of BC offered heritage organizations and Indigenous communities green infrastructure funding and these programs were a resounding success. They created local jobs. They helped BC’s cultural economy create a higher return than any other province in the country. They supported critical work that had been postponed for decades. They allowed our sector to prepare for an uncertain future by becoming more sustainable today. Both of these funds were wildly oversubscribed, showing the critical need for this funding. 

We call upon the Government of Canada to offer a parallel federal program by creating a one-time green infrastructure fund of $100,000,000. This will help the country meet its sustainability goals, stimulate local economies, and protect both our nation’s arts, culture, and heritage and the global environment – two irreplaceable assets.