Bill C-7

2nd Session, 41st Parliament,

62 Elizabeth II, 2013

house of commons of canada

BILL C-7

An Act to amend the Museums Act in order to establish the Canadian Museum of History and to make consequential amendments to other Acts

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Canadian Museum of History Act.

MUSEUMS ACT

2. The heading before section 7 and sections 7 to 9 of the Museums Act are replaced by the following:

Establishment of the Canadian Museum of History

7. (1) There is established a corporation to be called the Canadian Museum of History.

(2) The Canadian Museum of History shall include the Canadian War Museum and any other affiliated museums that the Board of the Canadian Museum of History may, by by-law, establish with the Governor in Council’s approval.

Purpose, Capacity and Powers of the Canadian Museum of History

8. The purpose of the Canadian Museum of History is to enhance Canadians’ knowledge, understanding and appreciation of events, experiences, people and objects that reflect and have shaped Canada’s history and identity, and also to enhance their awareness of world history and cultures.

9. (1) In furtherance of its purpose, the Canadian Museum of History has, subject to this Act, the capacity of a natural person and, elsewhere than in Quebec, the rights, powers and privileges of a natural person. In particular, the Canadian Museum of History may

(a) collect objects of historical or cultural interest and other museum material;

(b) maintain its collection by preservation, conservation or restoration or the establishment of records or documentation;

(c) sell, exchange, give away, destroy or otherwise dispose of museum material in its collection and use any revenue obtained from that disposal to further its collection;

(d) lend or borrow museum material on long- or short-term loan;

(e) organize, sponsor, arrange for or participate in travelling exhibitions, in Canada and internationally, of museum material in its collection and from other sources;

(f) undertake or sponsor any research related to its purpose or to museology, and communicate the results of that research;

(g) provide facilities to permit qualified individuals to use or study its collection;

(h) promote knowledge and disseminate information related to its purpose, throughout Canada and internationally, by any appropriate means of education and communication;

(i) establish and foster liaison with other organizations that have a purpose similar to its own;

(j) share the expertise of its staff by undertaking or sponsoring training and apprenticeship programs that relate to its purpose;

(k) provide or arrange for professional and technical services to other organizations that have a purpose similar to its own;

(l) acquire property by gift, bequest or otherwise, hold that property in trust or otherwise and expend, invest, administer and dispose of that property;

(m) develop, operate and maintain branches or exhibition centres;

(n) operate restaurants, lounges, parking facilities, shops and other facilities for the use of the public;

(o) lease or otherwise make available any of its facilities to other persons; and

(p) charge for goods, services and admission and use the revenue so obtained for its own purposes.

(2) The Canadian Museum of History may deal with property only in accordance with the terms on which it was acquired or is held.

3. The heading before section 34 and sections 34 to 45 of the Act are repealed.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

4. The following definitions apply in sections 5 to 10.

“former museum” means the Canadian Museum of Civilization established under section 7 of the Museums Act, as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 2.

“new museum” means the Canadian Museum of History established under section 7 of the Museums Act.

5. Section 2 does not affect the status of any person who was an officer, a trustee, an employee or an agent or mandatary of the former museum immediately before the day on which that section comes into force, except that, as of that day, the person is an officer, a trustee, an employee or an agent or mandatary of the new museum.

6. All rights and property held by or in the name of or in trust for the former museum and all obligations and liabilities of the former museum are deemed to be rights, property, obligations and liabilities of the new museum.

7. (1) Any power or duty that is vested in or is exercisable by the former museum under a contract, lease, licence, deed, agreement or other document is vested in or is exercisable by the new museum.

(2) Every reference to the former museum in any contract, lease, licence, deed, agreement or other document executed or signed by the former museum in its own name shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to the new museum.

8. Any amount appropriated, for the fiscal year in which section 2 comes into force, by an appropriation Act based on the Estimates for that year for defraying the charges and expenses of the former museum and that, on the day on which section 2 comes into force, is unexpended is deemed, on that day, to be an amount appropriated for defraying the charges and expenses of the new museum.

9. Any action, suit or other legal proceeding in respect of an obligation or liability incurred by the former museum may be brought against the new museum in any court that would have had jurisdiction if the action, suit or other legal proceeding had been brought against the former museum.

10. Any action, suit or other legal proceeding to which the former museum is a party that is pending in any court immediately before the day on which section 2 comes into force may be continued by or against the new museum in the same manner and to the same extent as it could have been continued by or against the former museum.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS

Access to Information Act

11. Paragraph 68(c) of the Access to Information Act is replaced by the following:

(c) material placed in the Library and Archives of Canada, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights or the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 by or on behalf of persons or organizations other than government institutions.

Financial Administration Act

12. Part I of Schedule III to the Financial Administration Act is amended by striking out the following:

Canadian Museum of Civilization

13. Part I of Schedule III to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Museum of History

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

14. Paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Historic Sites and Monuments Act is replaced by the following:

(b) an officer of the Canadian Museum of History designated by the member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada who is designated by the Governor in Council under the Museums Act as the Minister responsible for that Museum;

Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act

15. Schedule I to the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act is amended by replacing “Canadian Museum of Civilization” with “Canadian Museum of History”.

16. Schedule III to the Act is amended by striking out the following:

Canadian Museum of Civilization

17. Schedule III to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Museum of History

Privacy Act

18. Paragraph 69(1)(b) of the Privacy Act is replaced by the following:

(b) material placed in the Library and Archives of Canada, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum of Nature, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights or the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 by or on behalf of persons or organizations other than government institutions.

Public Service Superannuation Act

19. Part I of Schedule I to the Public Service Superannuation Act is amended by striking out the following:

Canadian Museum of Civilization

20. Part I of Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Museum of History

Public Sector Compensation Act

21. Schedule II to the Public Sector Compensation Act is amended by striking out the following:

Canadian Museum of Civilization

22. Schedule II to the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Canadian Museum of History