his Corporate Plan for the Parks Canada Agency outlines strategic objectives and investment strategies for the period 2000-01 to 2004-05. The Agency's priorities fall into the following five areas.

VISITOR SERVICES

Parks Canada places a high priority on providing visitors at national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas with quality services to enable them to enjoy and appreciate heritage places.

The Agency receives 25 million person-visits annually at some 180 parks, sites and canals throughout Canada. These services generate in excess of $2 billion in economic impacts. Visitation is relatively stable at this time and modest growth may be anticipated over the period of this plan. Visitor satisfaction is in the 85% range. In public surveys of quality of service, Parks Canada is ranked first amongst all federal government programs.

The objective is to sustain quality service at the 85%, or above, satisfaction level within the existing operating budget.

HERITAGE RESOURCE PROTECTION

Ecological Integrity

Ecological integrity is the first priority in the management of national parks so that future generations can appreciate and benefit from these special places. Recent State of the Parks Reports have identified that the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks is under threat. The Government of Canada commissioned an independent Panel on Ecological Integrity, which reported in March of 2000. The Panel report confirms that there is a significant deterioration occurring which requires immediate attention. It proposes a series of recommendations that would require an estimated $328 million of additional investment over the next five years.

The Agency's strategic objectives for the period of this plan are threefold.

• Existing funds will be used to address the most critical ecological issues and to sustain monitoring at current levels.
• Action will be taken to complete or put in place the necessary legislative, policy and administrative mechanisms to address issues raised in the Panel's report.
• An analysis of the report will be completed and a request for long term funding to implement the Panel's recommendations will be made during the first year of this plan.

Commemorative Integrity

The Agency's policy on commemorative integrity provides the framework for the long term protection, presentation, management, operation, monitoring and reporting on national historic sites. It has become a model for other organizations and institutions both nationally and internationally.

Active implementation of commemorative integrity began in 1995 and commemorative integrity statements have been completed for 50% of the 145 national historic sites administered by Parks Canada. By the end of 2001-02, commemorative integrity statements will have been completed for 85% of the sites and completion of the balance is estimated in the following year. This is a significant achievement and will provide for the first time ever, a consistent national base for the protection and presentation of national historic sites and their associated resources.

An important concern, dealt with later in this summary, is that the heritage assets that are an integral part of national historic sites are in a deteriorating condition.

Last Updated: 2002-05-07

Important Notices