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News > Canada

Canada Launches Pro-Indigenous Conservation Initiatives

  • The initiative gained substantial support in March during the World Intellectual Property Organization conference.

    The initiative gained substantial support in March during the World Intellectual Property Organization conference. | Photo: Reuters

Published 26 April 2019
Opinion

Among the initiatives are grants for Indigenous people, a website to facilitate research, and funding for education programs.

In an attempt to repair relations with its Indigenous communities, Canada is launching a number of initiatives to protect and conserve traditional expressions, culture, and knowledge, a press release stated.

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"Advancing reconciliation takes a whole-of-government approach involving partners at all levels,” said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development.

A series of concessions have been included in the 2019 budget including various grants set aside for Indigenous Canadians involved in intellectual property systems both domestically and internationally.

A donation of CAD1 million (US$742,200) will be extended to the Canadian Museum Reconciliation Project to assist with the advancement of reconciliation and collaboration with Canadian Indigenous communities.

Over half a million dollars will fund an inspection of the nation’s 2,600 museums’ and cultural institutions’ current national policies and practices to ensure they follow the guidelines set out by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Over CAD350,500 (US$260,100) will be used to retrain museum employees and offer workshops.

Budget concessions have also been made to allow for the development of an interactive website where the nation will have easy access to records and education tools for future generations.

Minister Bains said, “With these new intellectual property initiatives, we are making Canada's IP system more inclusive and providing Indigenous communities with key tools to protect and reap the full economic benefits of their intellectual property, Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions."

Vonda Vitale, Canadian Museum Association (CMA) executive director, called the program “ambitious, comprehensive, and inclusive.”

“In our interconnected world, museums have become ever more essential to the preservation of cultural diversity and appreciation,” Vitale said.

The initiative gained substantial support in March during the World Intellectual Property Organizations Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore in Geneva, Switzerland.

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