Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture Industries

The mandate of the ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture is to improve quality of life and promote economic growth by supporting and delivering tourism and cultural experiences, supporting arts and cultural industries and championing participation in sport and recreation actives across Ontario.

The ministry administers support within the arts and culture area and establishes a strong and stable culture division that will build vibrant communities and innovative knowledge-based Ontario economy. The ministry focuses on the culture sector to develop and implement programs, policies, and services that improve Ontario’s quality of life and enhance the contribution of cultural industries, heritage, arts, libraries, museum, archeology, and cultural agencies. Three major areas of the ministry’s activities are:

• Leading the development of innovative and internationally competitive content for the film, television, recorded music, interactive digital media, book and magazine publishing industries
• Encouraging innovative programming and collections that demonstrate the best of our cultural diversity and creativity by investing in Ontario's cultural agencies
• Administering the Public Libraries Act and the Ontario Heritage Act, providing funding support, advice and outreach to community museums, public libraries and heritage organizations and licensing archaeologists in the province.
  
  

The Ministry addresses and supports various cultural initiatives and groups such as: Aboriginal communities, archeology, arts and artists, cemeteries, creative cluster, cultural planning, heritage, libraries, Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry, and museums.

As our province is home to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis culture,tourism recourses offer a variety of exciting Aboriginal experiences and destinations such as: Six Nations Tourism, Cape Croker Indian Park, Aboriginal Experiences in the Heart of Ottawa, Great Lakes Cultural Camps, Great Spirit Circle Trail etc.

Archaeology as the study of past human cultures that is based on analysis of archeology sites, focuses on the following sites in Ontario: Aboriginal hunting camps and villages, battlefields, pioneer homes, burial grounds and cemeteries, shipwrecks, and other evidence of past human activities. The arts also play an important part in fulfilling the ministry’s mandate of fostering liveable and vibrant communities and building a strong economy. Our government recognizes artists through the Status of Ontario’s Artists 2007, Premier’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, and attractions agencies such as: Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre, Science North, Royal Botanical Gardens and McMichaelCanadian Art Collection.

More recently, many municipalities have taken an increasing interest in designation as a way of protecting cemeteries. This is done either through individual designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, or as part of Heritage Conservation Districts under Part V. A good example of a designated cemetery is Sault Ste. Marie Old Town Cemetery,protected by-law 94-113 modified to reflect requirements of the Ontario Heritage Act, 2005.

Part of the government programs and services is also the creative cluster which mainly through the Ontario Media Development Corporation (ODMC) promotes innovation, employment and investment in film and television, book and magazine publishing, music and interactive digital media industries. Furthermore, the ministry applies place-based approach to cultural planning by identifying and leveraging community’s cultural recourses, strengthening the management of those resources and finally integrating those resources across all areas of local planning and decision making. Right now, there are 72 approved municipal cultural plans in Ontario.

Our government has been promoting heritage conservation through the ministry to meet the changing needs. The ministry complies with the Ontario Heritage Act and is guided by the international standards and practice set out by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS International). Our strong library system contributes to education, literacy and life-long learning in our community. Ontario’s first free public libraries were established in Toronto and Guelph in 1883. Nearly 33 percent of Ontarians hold a public library card and every library branch in the province provides access to electronic information through the Internet. Community museums contribute to our communities’ economic well-being as employers and tourist attractions - attracting more than 3 million visitors every year. The Vision for Ontario’s Live Music Industry is an industry-led approach that includes promoters, presenters, managers, industry associations, and agents – with support from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Reference: http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/culture/culture.shtml