Auditors have discovered hundreds of artifacts have vanished from two Canadian museums, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. .“Inventory verifications were performed on an ad hoc basis and there were no plans to resolve any problems uncovered in these verifications including missing items,” said Auditor General Karen Hogan in a report..The audit targeted corporate managers of the Canadian Museum of History at Gatineau, QC, and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. .“We were particularly concerned the corporation did not have robust inventory management systems and practices which put the safeguarding of its collections containing over four million objects at risk,” said Hogan..“There were no action plans to deal with issues such as more than 300 items lacking proper storage, more than 15,000 items lacking source information and over 800 missing items identified in some inventory verifications.”.Auditors did not describe the missing artifacts. Hogan said several were deemed to be “of great historical significance.” .It was the worst audit of its kind since a 2019 investigation found Library and Archives Canada stored collections on loading docks after it ran out of filing cabinets. Library and Archives Canada called this “inadequate.”.“There is room for improvement,” it said. .An archives facility in Renfrew, ON, had staff begin stacking 80,000 maps and other documents on loading docks after they ran out of storage space. Historic records from Canadian contractor Dominion Bridge Co. were stored on a loading dock at the Renfrew building because of a lack of space. .“All the specialized filing cabinets in the Renfrew building were already filled to capacity,” said Library and Archives Canada. .Museums need to educate Canadians on climate change, equity, diversity and inclusion, according to a March report conducted by Canadian Heritage. .READ MORE: Museums to educate Canadians on ‘climate change, equity, diversity, and inclusion’.“Museums are colonial institutions,” said Canadian Heritage. .“Museums are part of the colonial legacy.”
