Glossary
Awareness: the proportion of Canadians who can do the following: a) name Parks Canada as the organization responsible for the heritage places (unaided awareness); b) indicate that they have heard of Parks Canada (aided awareness).
Commemorative Integrity: refers to the condition or state of a national historic site when the site has retained the heritage value for which it was designated. This is the desired state for a national historic site. A national historic site possesses commemorative integrity when: the resources directly related to the reasons for designation as a national historic site are not impaired or under threat; the reasons for designation as a national historic site are effectively communicated to the public; and the site’s heritage values (including those not related to the reasons for designation as a national historic site) are respected in all decisions and actions affecting the site.
Cultural resource: a human work, an object, or a place that is determined, on the basis of its heritage value, to be directly associated with one or several important aspects of human history and culture. The heritage value of a cultural resource is embodied in tangible or intangible character-defining elements. Cultural resources associated with Parks Canada protected heritage places are divided into two categories:
- Cultural resources of national historic significance: cultural resources that have a direct relationship with the reasons for designation of a national historic site.
- Cultural resources of other heritage value: cultural resources that do not have a direct relationship with the reasons for designation of a national historic site but that relate to important aspects of the human history or cultural significance of a Parks Canada protected heritage place.
Ecological integrity: means, with respect to a park, a condition that is determined to be characteristic of its natural region and likely to persist, including abiotic components and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes. Canada National Parks Act, s. 2(1).
Enjoyment: the proportion of visitors who enjoyed their visit to a heritage place administered by Parks Canada. Enjoyment is associated with whether an individual feels they benefited (i.e. spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally) from their experiences.
Learning: the proportion of visitors who considered that they gained knowledge about the natural or cultural components of a place administered by Parks Canada.
Public appreciation: the proportion of Canadians who appreciate the significance of the heritage places administered by Parks Canada.
Public support: the proportion of Canadians who support the protection and presentation of heritage places administered by Parks Canada.
Stakeholder/partner support: the proportion of Parks Canada stakeholders and partners that support the protection and presentation of heritage places administered by Parks Canada.
Satisfaction: the proportion of visitors who were satisfied, a subjective measure based on an individual’s personal assessment of how well their overall visit to a heritage place administered by Parks Canada met their own predetermined expectations.
Visitation: the number of people who visit a heritage place administered by Parks Canada in a given year. For this report visitation numbers are from April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2016. The trends are based on comparisons of 2015–16 and 2011 12 visitation figures.
Terminology note: In 2015, the Government of Canada adopted “Indigenous” as the collective term for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. As this change is recent, many pre-existing materials or programs still use the term “Aboriginal”.
- Date modified :