Guide to the Preparation of Commemorative Integrity Statements

1.4 Preparing for the Development of a Site's CIS

A clear understanding of Parks Canada's CRM Policy is the best preparation for developing a CIS. The policy can be found in Parks Canada Guiding Principles and Operational Policies, pp. 99-115, which is on the Parks Canada web-site www.parkscanada.gc.ca

A solid understanding of the history of the site and its resources is also required before starting the CIS.

Guideline No. 3 - Process, Roles and Approvals for Developing Commemorative Integrity Statements provides details about the process of CIS development.

Commemorative integrity is the CRM Policy tailored to a specific national historic site. A series of questions directly related to the CRM Policy has been developed for managers and those responsible for preparing a CIS. See Guideline No. 2 - CRM Policy and the Commemorative Integrity Statement .

These questions are intended to:

• Help managers assess the readiness of a site for a CIS exercise. (Have all resources been inventoried and evaluated? Are records and inventories relating to cultural resources, including basic data, records of decisions, actions taken and heritage recording, up to date?).
• Provide a focus for review at the end of each section of the CIS to ensure that nothing has been overlooked. (Are cultural resources valued within the relevant context? Is the significance of the site communicated effectively? Were all resources given initial consideration as potential cultural resources?).
• Link the site's everyday operations to the CRM Policy.

These questions can also be used in planning and management of the site. The primary goal for Parks Canada managers of national historic sites is to ensure commemorative integrity and the application of cultural resource management principles and practice, in compliance with the CRM Policy .