Still Hope for a Provincial Museum

Published on June 28, 2012 
Letters to the Editor (The Guardian)  

 It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. 

 
By Ian Scott
Commentary

The column by Gary MacDougall (May 19, 2012) on planning for 2014 activities, and the response by Senator Percy Downe on June 16 both indicated that conflicting views have emerged related to potential commemorative events for the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. These camps seem to be polarized around whether the focus of the event should be 'big party' versus 'legacy project', amid the economic realities affecting all sides.

The case for a proper provincial museum to complete our decentralized museum system remains an important public policy issue as indicated by the number of letters and editorials of support published within this paper over the years, not to mention recent studies and reports. From an election promise made by the Liberal government when they first formed government in 2007 to the 2011 policy convention of the Liberal Party of P.E.I., we have been told that planning for provincial museum development is a priority, yet the provincial five-year capital plan has yet to show a provincial museum project included. The P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation is the designated Crown agency charged with fulfilling the role under the Museum Act with what provincial dollars are allocated annually, yet the provincial cabinet remains effectively in charge of any new developments that would allow for appropriate facilities to carry out that role.

The idea that 2014 would be an opportune time to advance the provincial museum project has been discussed for several years now; moving ahead with planning a central museum facility is essential before more of our historically significant objects are lost. We sometimes seem caught in a cycle - without a central museum facility we lack exposure to the role museums can play, which could be producing a lack of commitment to planning for the future. We can hope that MacDougall's words are not ringing true, "The thought that today's generation has neither the interest nor the foresight to think of a lasting legacy for the 150th anniversary is disheartening. It seems our ability to dream is caught up in an economic straitjacket."
At one time there was no library system on the Island - no university or community college - all these ventures took vision and effort and now have been accepted as a part of the services a province provides for advancing knowledge. The same vision for improving the Island led our legislative assembly to create the P.E.I. Heritage Foundation in 1970 and in 1983 to grant it new powers as our provincial museum. Over the years, much has been achieved, but to realize the full mandate, which includes both human and natural history, much more needs to be done. Clearly the hope for a modest start on provincial museum development as the legacy project was heard loud and clear from the public at the consultation events I attended; one can only hope that the message has not fallen on deaf ears.

Ian Scott is president of the Natural History Society of P.E.I. In the 1980s, he served as executive director of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.