Minister McKenna re-opens UNESCO World Heritage nominations for first time in over a decade
OTTAWA, Aug. 8, 2016 /CNW/ - From Lunenburg, N.S., to Kluane in Yukon to the great Rocky Mountains, Canadians are lucky to have some of the world's most incredible historic and natural wonders right in our backyards.
Canada is already home to 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites, that Canadians and international visitors can discover and learn more about Canada's rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage.
Now, for the first time in over a decade, Canadians have the opportunity to suggest additions to that list. Today, in Grand Pré, N.S., the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Catherine McKenna, launched the call for nominations for Canada's next set of candidates for World Heritage Sites.
The Government of Canada is inviting communities from coast to coast to coast to nominate our country's most exceptional places to Canada's Tentative List for World Heritage Sites as a way to celebrate Canada's heritage. Canada's new nominees as UNESCO World Heritage Sites will be announced in 2017 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
As part of the nomination process Minister McKenna also announced the Government is seeking candidates for a Ministerial Advisory Committee that will review the nominations. The Committee will be made up of Canadian experts in the field of natural and cultural heritage, and will include Indigenous representation.
Quote
"The designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is reserved for humanity's most outstanding achievements and nature's most inspiring creations. This is an opportunity for all Canadians to think about the natural, historic and cultural wonders in their communities. As we prepare to come together as a nation to celebrate our 150th birthday in 2017, I invite Canadians and communities from across the country to nominate their unique and exceptional places for consideration as future World Heritage Sites, so we can share more of our treasures with the world."
The Honourable Catherine McKenna
Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada
Quick Facts
- World Heritage sites are exceptional places around the world that are considered to have Outstanding Universal Value — these sites are as diverse as the Pyramids of Egypt and Australia's Great Barrier Reef. There are 18 World Heritage Sites in Canada and Parks Canada is responsible, in whole or in part, for the conservation and protection of 12 of those sites.
- Parks Canada is the Government of Canada's representative for the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Only two nominations per year can be submitted by each country for consideration by the World Heritage Committee.
- Canada's nomination list, called the Tentative List for World Heritage Sites, was last updated in 2004. Five of the 11 sites on the current list have since been inscribed as World Heritage Sites. The most recent site inscribed was Mistaken Point, NL, recognized just a few weeks ago in July 2016.
- July 23, 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of Canada's ratification of the World Heritage Convention.
- For information on how to nominate a site, please visit: www.pc.gc.ca
Related Products
Ministerial Advisory Committee for the Update of Canada's Tentative List for World Heritages Sites
Updating Canada's Tentative List for World Heritage Sites
Associated Links
World Heritage Sites in Canada
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
SOURCE Parks Canada
Contacts: Caitlin Workman, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-938-9436; Media Relations, Parks Canada Agency, 855-862-1812, [email protected]
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