REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN CANADA Cultural property, more known as art, antiquity and collectibles, is an inseparable part of every nation. Virtually every government, business or individual has contact with objects of culture...
From: Tamoikins Museum
To: Government of Canada
2009
REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN CANADA
Cultural property, more known as art, antiquity and collectibles, is an inseparable part of every nation. Virtually every government, business or individual has contact with objects of culture and heritage. Publicly owned cultural property located on city streets, in museums, and government institutions is the key source of revenue for every municipality nationwide. For the past decade the international market of art, antiquity and collectibles has quietly grown into an economical giant. It has become a multibillion dollar sector, far exceeding gold and diamond markets. That said, it remains one of the least regulated and the last unregulated markets in North America.
Officially, the global market of cultural property is estimated at 30 to 50 billion US dollars (yearly circulation). Because most of the transactions are conducted under the shadow of privacy, no one truly knows the actual value of this economic sector. Most recent estimates place it roughly at 200 billion dollars per year. Absence of necessary laws and regulatory systems provide perfect conditions for wide range of criminal activities on all levels. Unfortunately, Canada is no exception.
As a nation of immigrants, and one of few developed countries in the world that actively promotes immigration, Canada has to deal with many issues involving cultural property from all over the world. Without proper regulations in Canada, not only does this large sector remain untapped, it essentially undermines the country’s development causing financial and cultural degradation. On the other hand, with proper laws and regulation this massive influx of art, antiquity and collectibles can become one of the most profitable sectors of economy. In addition to imported and exported goods, Canada already has a very large amount of cultural items within its borders. This property requires just as much government oversight as any other valuable commodity. Due to the complete absence of necessary regulatory laws, as it stands, our government cannot tap into this very large source of revenue. On top of that, until this situation changes our nation will, unknowingly, continue to sponsor various criminal activities ranging from tax evasion and fraud to monopoly and even terrorism.
To be more direct let’s outline the problems. At present time our government:
* Has no uniform standard of appraisal of cultural property and thus cannot effectively evaluate objects of art, antiquity and collectibles.
* Has no uniform standard of registering cultural property and thus cannot effectively document most valuable information and preserve our history.
* Has no uniform standard to manage identity of cultural property and thus cannot effectively authenticate, track and book-keep national heritage.
* Has no system to manage and regulate import / export of cultural property
* Has no way of effectively regulating (taxing, auditing and governing) the market of cultural property.
* Does not know the value of cultural property in public possession (museum, galleries, libraries, government buildings…).
* Does not know the value of cultural property in private possession.
