Re-elected Conservatives would create $15M fund to match private museum donations

OTTAWA – A re-elected Conservative government would create an endowment fund for museums that would match the money the institutions raise privately.

The party announced Sunday that the endowment fund would be based on a similar program already in place for the arts.

A Conservative news release says the new incentive fund would match every dollar raised by a local museum from individual donors, with some conditions.

The program would be capped at approximately $15 million per year.

The New Democrats scornfully dismissed Sunday’s announcement.

“Stephen Harper is more interested in trying to re-write history than he is in preserving it,” said Kathleen Jodouin, who is running for the NDP in the Ontario riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming.

“Conservatives have politically intervened in ads for the War of 1812, remade the Museum of Civilization, and even snubbed the first Canadian in space from Canadian space history events.”