Here's an ethical dilemma.
You're a heritage-minded type, been active in preservation activities and the outreach work that grows from that. Say you have some expertise, some organizational skills, some community standing. Now the government asks you to join the board of the new National Trust, announced in the budget yesterday to conserve Canadian heritage sites and natural places.
Accept? Reject?
See, the National Trust has a budget of $5 million over a couple of years. That'll cover startup costs, lease on some offices, board expenses, a few staffers. Then what? The Trust has not been given any power to designate property, stop demolition, require conservation. It's to be a private sector operation beyond its startup: it can solicit donations and partnerships.
But uh... Don't we already have the Heritage Canada Foundation and the Nature Conservancy and other organizations doing precisely that? As the Heritage Canada Foundation says today, it's surprised at the National Trust announcement. The federal government already created Canada's National Trust, back in 1973: it's the Heritage Canada Foundation. And it's still there.
I guess this wouldn't have happened if Bev Oda, Minister for Canadian Heritage, were alive.
You join this new org. You are not a Tory patronage hack. You are not crazy. So what are you?
