by DOUG GALLANT
as published in The Guardian - February 23, 2008
The last of seven public meetings scheduled in conjunction with the Island Heritage Study drew more than 80 people to the Charlottetown Hotel Thursday.
“The turnout was very encouraging,” meeting chair Harry Baglole said Friday. “We had a number of city councillors out, the mayor of Charlottetown was there, we had people from the Chamber of Commerce, some federal MPs and many interested individuals. There was a lot of interest and a lot of energy in the room.”
Anyone who wished to address Thursday night’s meeting was given five minutes to do so.
“There were a lot of different issues addressed,” Baglole said. “There was a lot of talk about a provincial museum. Not everybody brought it up but a lot of people did and there seemed to be a lot of support for the idea.”
Both Charlottetown and Stratford were suggested as prime locations for such a facility.
Baglole said there was talk Thursday night about the cultural landscape of P.E.I.
“There was a lot of talk about the look of the countryside, about buildings, churches and farmhouses and there was a lot of talk about agriculture and what would happen if agriculture ceases to be a major industry.”
Living culture also figured into Thursday’s discussions.
“We had representation from the Benevolent Irish Society and the Scottish Settlers Society, the Caledonia Club. People are seeking more recognition for Gaelic and Celtic culture.”
Baglole said the nature of the Charlottetown meeting was somewhat different than the other public meetings.
“In other places, there was a lot of discussion with regards to local issues. In Charlottetown, it was more like a summing up of things, a provincial focus.”
There was a general consensus that more resources must be dedicated to heritage issues.
“There is a general concern that successive provincial governments, dating back to the late 1970s, have not invested enough in our heritage. We need more resources, more vision, and better co-ordination of heritage efforts. We were told there was a need for high professional standards from tip to tip for our museums.”
Baglole said other issues raised Thursday included the status of Upton Farm, the need for more designation of heritage roads and the need for a natural history museum.
“There have been a number of people calling for a natural history museum and for a much larger emphasis on natural history in our education system. People said we need to talk more about the importance of the environment and our heritage.”
Baglole said the input received at these public meetings will be reviewed and incorporated into a special report being prepared for the province.
Included in that report as well will be input received from 25 individuals from across the Island invited to meet with those carrying out the study and from several stakeholders groups.
The stakeholders groups will include, for example, people concerned with aboriginal culture and people focused of specific issues like architecture.
Baglole noted that while the public meetings are over members of the public can still make written submissions.
All research and consultation is to be completed by the end of March.
A preliminary report will be made to the provincial government by late May. The final report will go to the province in June.
No comments:
Post a Comment