THE RIGHT CHOICES Investing in Our Heritage
Mr. Speaker, last year our government acknowledged the
tremendous role our cultural industries play in promoting pride
in who we are as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and in
generating tremendous economic activity through their ingenuity
and innovation. This year, we are building on the advances we
made last year through further strong investments in our
cultural sector. The centrepiece of our efforts this year is the
development of Newfoundland and Labrador�s first-ever
Strategic Cultural Plan, a medley of measures designed to
strengthen this sector. This Budget commits an investment of
$17.6 million over the next three years to implement this Plan.
With culture as our focus, we will pursue a range of measures to
further strengthen our cultural industries. This will include
$200,000 in core funding for arts organizations and $300,000 for
heritage sites and community museums. We will establish a
Cultural Tourism Working Group to assess and identify ways to
better harness our cultural tourism product. We will also invest
in Music Newfoundland and Labrador, a Publishers Assistance
Program and the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development
Corporation.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council is proudly
celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. We are increasing
our allocation to the Council by $300,000 this year, bringing
its funding to $1.15 million so it can better support the arts
community. Our cumulative new investment in the Arts Council
over the next three years will be $1.8 million, which will
double the Council�s existing budget. We will also move ahead to
enable the development of a long-awaited Artist�s Code.
We will increase funding for the Art Procurement Program under
the auspices of the Provincial Art Gallery at The Rooms, enhance
the provincial Arts and Letters Program, research investment and
endowment models that help to support the arts and culture
sector, and develop a strategy to safeguard and promote the
province�s intangible heritage. We will invest in capital works
and technical upgrades at the Arts and Culture Centres and the
renovation of the LSPU Hall.
We will begin to develop interpretation and revitalization plans
for the historic Colonial Building and allocate funds to enhance
the Corner Brook Museum, the Loggers� Life and Mary March
museums in Grand Falls-Windsor, the Seamen�s Museum in Grand
Bank, the Mockbeggar Plantation and the Bonavista Lighthouse,
Commissariat House, Quidi Vidi Battery, the Ryan Shop in
Trinity, the Cable Station in Heart�s Content and the Point
Amour Lighthouse.
In addition to this, we will invest in community events
throughout the province. Through our Recreation Division, we
will provide $200,000 to fund the 2006 world triathlon and
duathlon world championships in Corner Brook. And we are
investing now to prepare for the 100th anniversary, in 2009, of
Captain Bob Bartlett�s trip to the North Pole and moving ahead
to plan the 2010 celebration of the 400th anniversary of John
Guy�s Colony at Cupids.
These cultural initiatives will complement the additional
resources we are investing in tourism development to foster
growth in an industry that can mean magnificent opportunities
throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, irrespective of location.
We will invest $100,000 this year to achieve goals laid out in
our Tourism Product Development Strategy. We have committed
another $2 million beyond what was announced in last year�s
Budget in order to bring our total tourism marketing budget up
to $10 million. And we will upgrade and extend the operating
time of our province�s Visitor Information Centres and establish
a new provincial centre at the St. John�s International Airport.
Protecting our heritage also means protecting our natural
environment. We are increasing funding from $300,000 to
$500,000 for the continued implementation of the province�s
Climate Change Action Plan and providing $1 million this year
for the continued clean-up of selected contaminated sites.
To ensure the health of our wildlife populations, we are
providing funding of about $3 million over two years to assess
the status of ten of the province�s major caribou populations,
and will also establish a multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee
to help guide the development of a caribou strategy.
We are also moving ahead with a long-term reinvestment strategy
for our Provincial Parks System by providing $1 million this
year to add additional campsites and construct another comfort
station at Butter Pot Provincial Park, construct a comfort
station at Squires Memorial Provincial Park, construct a comfort
station and dumping station at Pinware River Provincial Park,
and build dumping stations at Frenchman�s Cove Provincial Park
and J. T. Cheeseman Provincial Park. These additions will make
our parks more attractive destinations and allow us to meet the
broader range of services and amenities demanded by the modern
consumer.
We are investing additional funds to help preserve and promote
our remarkable natural areas. This year, we will focus on
supporting the new interpretation centre for the Mistaken Point
Ecological Reserve and another for the Burnt Cape Ecological
Reserve. We are also providing $259,000 to advance the Natural
Areas System Plan, which is focused on protecting and promoting
these areas for their esthetic and economic value.
Together, this broad range of initiatives will strengthen our
province and provide the foundation for diversified economic
development in regions throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
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