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Canada’s historic structures are crumbling away, report warns

Renovations to Dawson City's historic CIBC bank are on hold due to the discovery of lead paint and asbestos.

Some of Canada's important history is literally crumbling away.

An independent consultant's report concludes the condition of important structures such as forts, historically important homes and other buildings overseen by Parks Canada are in worse shape than the department believes, The Canadian Press reports.

Opus International Consultants Ltd. was hired to review the inventory of historic sites created by Parks Canada to determine how much repair work is needed, said CP, which obtained the company's report under the Access to Information Act.

Parks Canada's own 2012 inventory found 47 per cent of all assets it controls, including dams, bridges, roads and historic structures, were in poor or very poor condition. The Opus review determined the overall level was actually 53 per cent.

But cultural assets, historic homes, forts, waterway locks and other heritage structures, were doing even worse, CP said. The Opus review estimated 61 per cent of the 2,000 structures sampled were in poor or very poor shape. That's almost double Parks Canada's estimate of 33 per cent.

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“Results indicate that at the portfolio level the value of [Parks Canada] assets in poor condition has increased from condition reported in the 2012 National Asset Review,” Opus said in its report, which cost $316,000.

It's not the first time Parks Canada's stewardship of important elements of Canada's history has come into question, CP noted.

A 2009 internal report criticized the agency's bureaucrats for failing to maintain a reliable inventory of its assets, estimated to be worth $15 billion today.

Parks Canada responded by conducting a review in 2012, which estimated there were $2.9 billion in deferred repairs. More than half related to waterways, highways and bridges, which Opus found were actually in better shape than Parks Canada thought.

However, Opus found Canada's irreplaceable cultural assets were badly neglected, with two thirds requiring about $230 million in repairs and maintenance, CP reported.

Parks Canada, which has been coping with budget cuts and staff reductions, told CP the agency was still reviewing the consultant's report, which largely confirmed its own estimates about the cost of repairs.

[ Related: Parks Canada cuts seen as 'attacking' tourism industry ]

“Parks Canada has invested an average of $119 million annually over the last 10 years on the recapitalization of its infrastructure,” spokeswoman Genevieve Patenaude said via email.

“Investments include incremental capital resources announced by the government, the most recent of which was $19-million announced in Budget 2013 to address critical improvements to national park highways and bridges.”