21 June 2010

Sites and Monuments Meetings

The ex-Canadian Pacific York Street station in Fredericton.

Fredericton New Brunswick - Members of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada are in Fredericton today and Tuesday as they begin a week-long set of meetings and tour of southern New Brunswick.
 
The 18-member board will visit local heritage sites such as Government House, the Marysville national historic district, and the York Street Train Station today.
 
"While we are here, we're going to visit the Fredericton railway station. One of the board's responsibilities is the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act. This is an opportunity to see the functioning of the act in real life and see the act at work," said Julie Dompierre, the board's executive secretary.
 
"I think it's really just an opportunity to give board members a chance to see a building in poor condition, being fixed. The roof has now been fixed. We'll be talking about the plans to rehabilitate the building."
 
The board holds meetings twice a year, once in the national capital region and once in another region of the country. The summer meeting is typically timed to coincide with major events or anniversaries.
 
Southern New Brunswick was selected as the site of this year's visit because Saint John is celebrating its 225th anniversary.
 
Board members leave Tuesday for St. Andrews and head to Saint John on Thursday to participate in celebrations there.
 
Because the board serves in an advisory capacity to the minister of Canadian Heritage, its meetings will be closed to the public.
 
The group will meet with provincial heritage experts and also meet local stakeholders during a luncheon at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
 
The board is composed of two members from Ontario, two from Quebec, one from each of the other eight provinces and three territories, and three ad-hoc members representing other organizations.
 
Shawn Berry.