Ministry 2003/04 Annual Service Plan Report - Government of British Columbia.
   

Performance Reporting

Core Business Area: Culture, Heritage and Sport

Goal: British Columbians participate and excel in culture, heritage and sports

In 2003/04, the ministry supported culture, heritage and sport through policy and program activities, administration of the Physical Fitness and Amateur Sports Fund and through policy and program support to the BC Arts Council. Supporting the participation of British Columbians in culture, heritage and sport furthers the ministry's mission and vision to improve the quality of life and self-sufficiency of British Columbia citizens and communities.

The arts and cultural sector is a significant contributor to the health of our communities and to the strength of our economy. Arts and culture are central to the emerging knowledge-based economy and will increasingly contribute to the development of British Columbia's economic vitality. The sector also contributes to the ministry's vision of sustainable communities and provides the basis of cultural tourism development throughout BC.

Conserving heritage resources contributes to our understanding of British Columbia as a people, and to our sense of community. Heritage sites can also contribute to growth in the tourism sector, thereby contributing to the growth of local economies. A number of provincial heritage properties have been devolved to communities to allow for more flexible, creative, locally-based management.

BC has in excess of 215,000 buildings that pre-date 1945, as well as many other historic resources. Approximately 15,000 historic places have been identified by communities, but fewer than 1,500 have been legally protected by local governments or the Province. BC is working with the federal government and other provinces/territories through the Historic Places Initiative to support development of the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

British Columbia has traditionally been a sport leader in Canada, consistently sending more than its per capita share of Canada's athletes to world competitions, Olympics/Paralympics, Pan American and Commonwealth Games. BC's sport and physical activity systems are strong and highly-developed with streams of activity occuring in a number of settings, including schools, communities and competitive environments. More than 834,000 British Columbians are registered members of provincial sport organizations; three-quarters of whom are youth and children.

While British Columbia's physical activity rate leads the country, 47 per cent of our population (1998/99) and about half of our children and youth are not active enough to derive health benefits (National Population Health Survey, 1998/99). In BC, the cost of health care and lost productivity due to these physical inactivity levels is estimated between $347 million and $647 million annually ("The Cost of Physical Inactivity", 2003, Ministry of Health Services).

National longitudinal studies confirm that children who participate in organized activities, like sports, music, arts or other activities outside schools, have higher self-esteem and lower incidences of incarceration and involvement in vandalism. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, the public received an estimated $7.16 in justice and health care cost savings for every dollar invested in high quality programs of sport and physical activity for disadvantaged children. Studies also confirm that youth involved in sport and physical activity are less likely to smoke and have fewer unwanted teenage pregnancies.

Objectives and Strategies

Objective 1: British Columbia's cultural sector contributes to quality of life and economic development of communities.

Key Strategies Undertaken:

  • The ministry provided administrative policy and program support to the BC Arts Council.
  • Initiatives were developed to improve the competitive position of the publishing industry.
  • A review of the provincial sound recording industry was completed.

The programs of the British Columbia Arts Council provided over $11 million in assistance to support arts and cultural activities throughout the province.

Based on work undertaken by the ministry, the provincial government implemented a refundable book publishing tax credit program. This program will assist provincial book publishers to compete effectively in both Canadian and international markets.

During the past year, the ministry also undertook a review of the provincial sound recording industry to identify its potential for further growth.

Objective 2: British Columbia's heritage is preserved and promoted.

Key Strategies Undertaken:

  • 19 British Columbia heritage properties were devolved to community partners.
  • The ministry contributed to the development of the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
Performance Measures 2003/04
  Target Actual Variance
Output: Agreements with third parties to manage devolved heritage properties. 20 19 -1
Outcome: Communities recognize the value of British Columbia's heritage.

Measure: Number of communities with approved heritage registers, strategies and plans.

2 16 +14

Explanation of Variance:

In 2003/04, the Heritage Branch worked to complete the devolution of 19 heritage properties to a variety of local agencies to allow more flexible and creative local management of these resources.

Devolution of Barkerville was delayed pending the report of the Task Force, which was made public on May 20, 2004. Devolution is expected to be completed by March 2005.

The branch also signed a contribution agreement for $855,000 with the federal government for the Historic Places Initiative to support BC's participation in the development of the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

The register is a national initiative that will become a cornerstone of provincial and community heritage programs in future years, providing online access to listings of formally recognized historic places across the country. In 2003/04, the Historic Places Initiative also enabled a number of partnered projects with local governments to build community skills and capacity and facilitate participation in the national initiative.

Four new community heritage registers have been established and 12 substantially updated. Community heritage registers, strategies and plans enable communities to integrate heritage into social and economic planning, helping to conserve the identity and physical character of BC communities.

In March 2004, the initial phase of development of a BC Register of Historic Places database was completed. Almost 600 records prepared by local governments will be entered into the Register.

Objective 3: British Columbians participate in physical activity and British Columbian athletes excel.

Key Strategies Undertaken:

  • An Aboriginal Youth FIRST Program was developed and implemented.
  • Supported by the Sports and Physical Activity branch, the Active Schools, Active Communities, and Organized Sport working groups developed recommendations for government and the sector to increase sport and recreation activity in the province in a sustainable manner.
  • The ministry supported (in partnership with the Ministry of Health Planning and 2010 LegaciesNow Society) the Action Schools! BC research project and pilot program.
Performance Measures 2003/04
  Target Actual Variance
Output: Number of participants in the Aboriginal Youth FIRST training programs. 250 250 None
Outcome: British Columbia athletes excel.

Measures: Team BC placement at:

2003 Canada Winter Games

2005 Canada Summer Games

3rd place

4th place

4th instead
of 3rd

Explanation of Variance:

British Columbia's placement at the Canada winter and summer games is an ultimate outcome measure of the British Columbia sport system. British Columbia's target was to place third at the Canada winter games, but placed fourth instead. This highlights the challenge of using ultimate outcome measures because the ministry has little control over these types of indicators.

In 2003/04 the ministry had 250 participants in the Aboriginal Youth FIRST provincial and northwest camps. This summer program supported participants in developing skills in swimming, outdoor recreation and adventure tourism. It also contributed to an improvement in the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people. The number of participants is derived from class lists.

Also in 2003/04, the Active Schools, Active Communities and Organized Sport working groups (groups of 55 stakeholders) completed its deliberations and produced a report called "Moving Ahead: from Policy to Action, Recommendations for a Sustainable Future for Sport and Physical Activity". These 33 recommendations are being evaluated and have resulted in various activities such as Action Schools! BC (funded by Ministry of Health Planning and LegaciesNow), 2010 LegaciesNow Game Plan (a high performance sport plan and support), recreation facility inventory, Ministry of Education changes to physical education, and an Active Communities initiative (under development.)

While these initiatives are in the pilot and development phases, they will ultimately help build the capacity for schools, communities and the organized sport system to increase participation in sport and physical activity levels province-wide. Increased physical activity leads to reduced health and social costs and can have an important impact on our economy (e.g., reduced absenteeism and improved productivity in the workplace, increased sport tourism and manufacturing/retail benefits).

 

 
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