Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Aug, 2023 01:06 PM
  • Audit finds 800 items missing from Canadian history museum, no plan to deal with it

An investigation by Canada's auditor general found the Canadian Museum of History's conservation system is putting its collections at risk.

The federal Crown corporation manages collections for the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum, and is charged with the care of more than four million objects and historical and cultural artifacts.

The auditor's team was particularly concerned that there was no robust way of managing the inventory.

The audit found the corporation did such a poor job keeping tabs on those objects that more than 800 were declared missing during inventory inspections between 2012 and 2022.

More than 300 items weren't stored properly, and 15,000 lacked information about where the item came from. 

"There were no plans to resolve any problems uncovered in these verifications, including finding missing items," the auditor's report stated. 

One inventory inspection of several rooms at the Canadian Museum of History in March 2022 found more than 700 issues, including almost 80 missing items — five of which were deemed to be of great historical significance. 

As of August 2022, 400 of those issues were still unresolved, with no plan or timeline to address them.

The corporation had planned to create a database of 1.1 million archeological records in 2016 as a first step toward inventorying the collection, but records for 200,000 weren't finished by the target deadline of March 2022 and no new timeline was set. 

The audit also revealed the museum did not regularly review which staff were allowed to access to secure locations where collections are stored, even though safeguarding historical artifacts is central to the corporation's mandate.  

The last review at the history museum was done in 2005, and the war museum's last one was in 2021. Neither museum had plans for another review. 

The museum agreed to all 11 of the auditor's recommendations to resolve some of the issues. 

Despite the "significant deficiencies," the audit found the museum maintained reasonable systems and practices to carry out its mandate.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey RCMP looking for witnesses to alleged hit-and-run that sends one to hospital

Surrey RCMP looking for witnesses to alleged hit-and-run that sends one to hospital
RCMP were called to 128 Street north of 80 Avenue in the Newton area of Surrey shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday for reports of a hit-and-run collision involving a pedestrian. Police say a vehicle struck a man in the roadway, and took off.

Surrey RCMP looking for witnesses to alleged hit-and-run that sends one to hospital

Body found in Oak Bay identified

Body found in Oak Bay identified
Police in Saanich say they have identified a man found dead under suspicious circumstances in Oak Bay as Steven Middleton. They say the 33-year-old's body was found on Wednesday in the 200-block of Beach Drive and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit has taken over the investigation.

Body found in Oak Bay identified

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy
At around 2:30pm on Thursday, New Westminster Police were called to a pharmacy on 12th Street after an employee described two suspects armed with a firearm robbed the business of money and prescription medicine.  

Robbery at a New Westminster pharmacy

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra
They say officers found Samra with gunshot wounds and he was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police say they believe a vehicle that was found on fire nearby about 10 minutes later is associated with the shooting.  

IHIT identifies Richmond shooting victim as Ravinder Samra

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley
Transit will also be free (excluding tickets and pass products) for riders on conventional transit from the resumption of service on August 6 through to August 31, 2023. BC Transit and the local government partners want to thank everyone for their patience during the service disruption

Free transit from Aug 6-Aug 31 in the Fraser Valley

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing
A consent order released by the BC Financial Services Authority last week says Mike Rose was alone in the home in Kamloops, B.C., in July last year as he waited for his clients, who were interested in buying the property. 

B.C. real estate agent fined $20,000 after being caught swigging milk at home showing