Canadians support Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta project

PETITION

To: The Government of Canada

And to: The Hon. Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women

Over the last 30 years the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta (UCAMA) has served the people of Edmonton and Alberta through its research facilities and exhibits. UCAMA’s current building does not meet modern professional museum/archive standards for collection management, storage and public exhibits. UCAMA needs to bring its facility into the 21st century, but cannot achieve this in its existing building which is both too small and functionally obsolete.

In 2003 UCAMA purchased the historic Lodge Hotel (1912) on Jasper Avenue in Edmonton to rehabilitate for a new museum facility. To meet accepted museum standards, the renovation of the Lodge Hotel was originally budgeted at $14 million but has since increased to $21.1 million due to current construction escalation in Alberta. The project has gained national acclaim, and was awarded one of the prestigious Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence for architectural design in 2006.

To date, both the Province of Alberta and the City of Edmonton have committed $3 million each to the project. UCAMA has been attempting to secure funding from the federal government for this project since August 2005. An application for $6 million is currently with the Cultural Spaces Program of Canadian Heritage.

(View the video below for more information on UCAMA's project
or download an Executive Summary)