Property Management Plan

5. Protection and Management of the Property

1. Ownership
2. Protective designation
3. Means of implementing protective measures
4. Existing plans related to municipality and region in which the proposed property is located
5. Property Management Plan
6. Sources and levels of finance
7. Sources of expertise and training in conservation and management techniques
8. Visitor facilities and statistics
9. Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property
10. Staffing levels

E. Property Management Plan

The Rideau Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan constitutes the formal commitment of the Government of Canada to manage the world heritage site and its values and specifies how these values will be conserved, protected and presented for present and future generations. The document identifies the world heritage values, the legislative and policy framework for management of the property, the elements of the coordinated management system in place to protect, conserve and present the property, and mechanisms for monitoring and periodic reporting.

The nominated property consists of six elements, the Rideau Canal, Fort Henry, and the four Martello towers in Kingston. Given the nature of the nominated property with its six distinct elements, this Rideau Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan provides an overarching management framework to cohesively direct the protection, conservation and presentation of the entire property. This management plan thus complies with the requirements of the World Heritage Convention by demonstrating how the outstanding universal values of the property are protected. The Government of Canada will review and update the plan after each six-year reporting cycle.

For operational purposes, the elements of the world heritage site and their cultural resources are managed under the direction provided by the Parks Canada Agency’s management plans for each national historic site. The revised Rideau Canal Management Plan (2005) and the pending management plans for Fort Henry and the Kingston Fortifications national historic sites of Canada, identify the cultural and natural values of the property that must be protected, and the policies and long-term programs to conserve and present these resources and their values. The implementation of the management plans for the Rideau Canal, Fort Henry, and the Kingston Fortifications is the primary mechanism for conserving and presenting their values and these plans serve equally well for the management of the world heritage values of the property. The Rideau Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan will, therefore, be implemented primarily through the Parks Canada Agency management planning system and subsequent planning processes.

The element-specific management plans for the nominated property provide direction for ongoing decision-making and investment of financial and human resources. The principal planning tool for identifying management decisions related to investment of resources is the Eastern Ontario Field Unit Business Plan , a five year plan that addresses the highest priority management issues and which is updated annually. With respect to investments in the conservation and maintenance of assets, both cultural resources and contemporary, the business plan is informed by the Eastern Ontario Field Unit Long Term Capital Plan . This plan, which is developed by the field unit’s asset management group, identifies all investments in asset protection and conservation that will be required on a tenyear forecast. The plan is updated annually and specific interventions are re-assessed for priority based on asset inspections and condition assessments. The key inputs into this plan come from the asset monitoring program of the Eastern Ontario Field Unit. The Field Unit Business Plan and the Long Term Capital Plan together will identify, place in order of priority, and direct, the fiscal and human resources required to conserve and present the world heritage values of the nominated property. (The Department of National Defence has its own asset management system, which is applied to Fort Frederick and is consistent in terms of the effective management of the assets.)

The Field Unit Business Plan and the Long Term Capital Plan identify annual work programs for which the Field Unit Superintendent of the Eastern Ontario Field Unit of the Parks Canada Agency is accountable. The Superintendent will be the chief responsible officer for all the elements of the world heritage site except Fort Frederick, which is under the authority of the Base Commander, Canadian Forces Base Kingston.

While the Parks Canada Agency’s management plans for the elements of the nominated property will be the primary tool for the protection and presentation of the property, the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan includes commitments that are not included in site-specific management plans. These commitments relate to the presentation of the nominated property as a world heritage site and to reporting on the property’s state of conservation to the World Heritage Committee on a six-year cycle.