Nova Scotia. Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage

Other forms of name:
Nova Scotia. Department of Tourism and Culture (1987)
Nova Scotia. Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage (2003)

In 1987 the Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness was dissolved and the minister of tourism assumed responsibility for cultural affairs, which included cultural industries, performing arts, production crafts, heritage property and visual arts. Tourism was renamed Tourism and Culture. In 1994 that department too was dissolved. Tourism was transferred to the Department of Economic Development; parks, beaches and recreational areas to the Department of Natural Resources; and culture to the Department of Education. In 1999 the former Department of Tourism and Culture was re-established. The new department was responsible for tourism planning, development, marketing and operations; development of the province's culture sector, including cultural industries; preservation of the province's natural, documentary, cultural and built heritage, including the operation of Museum heritage services; and Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. In 2003, in order to reflect more accurately the department's mandate, Tourism and Culture was renamed Tourism, Culture and Heritage. In January 2011, the department was renamed Communities, Culture and Heritage, when its tourism responsibilities were transferred to the Department of Economic and Rural Development, which was renamed Economic and Rural Development and Tourism. At the same time, Communities, Culture and Heritage assumed responsibility for the Provincial Library from the Department of Education; and the Offices of Acadian, African Nova Scotian and Gaelic Affairs became part of the department for administrative purposes, with the deputy minister becoming their chief executive officer. In November 2014, the department assumed responsibility for volunteerism and the non-profit sector from the Department of Labour and Advanced Education. In April 2015 it assumed responsibility for the regional economic development plan, Nova Scotia Community Access Program and funding for Le Conseil de developpement economique de la Nouvelle Ecosse from the former Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism.

Notes: Authority record based on Statutes of Nova Scotia: 1988 c. 30, 1994 c. 5 and c. 31, 2001 c. 4, 2011 c. 9; Orders in Council 1999-399 (16 Aug. 1999), 2003-516 (4 Dec. 2003), 2011-15 (11 Jan. 2011), 2011-23 (11 Jan. 2011), 2014-479 (27 Nov. 2014), 2015-116 (9 Apr. 2015).

see also Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness

see also Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism