In its review of an application for an export permit, the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (CCPERB) determines whether the object:
In making a determination of outstanding significance and national importance, CCPERB will consider all the information before it and, in addition, relying on its own expertise, will consider the factors outlined below.
An object may be of outstanding significance by reason of its close association with Canadian history or national life, its aesthetic qualities, or its value in the study of the arts or sciences.
CCPERB will consider the object’s close association with Canada’s artistic, cultural, scientific, or social history. This may include, among others, the object’s close association with a place or event; a person or group; a formative aspect of Canadian history, or a significant historical discovery, development, innovation, or movement.
CCPERB will consider the object’s place in the national life of Canada through its close association with a cultural tradition or way of life; a spiritual practice or system of belief; a group or community.
CCPERB will consider the aesthetic qualities of the object and whether these qualities are significant. These qualities may include, among others, whether the object is innovative or significant in its composition, concept, execution, or style.
CCPERB will consider the object’s value in the study of the arts, such as fine arts, applied or decorative arts, architecture, literature, music, performing arts, new media, or other arts, by determining whether it does or could contribute significantly to an understanding of the arts, or the practice of the arts. CCPERB may also consider whether it is a representative example of a creator’s oeuvre; a technique, style, genre, school, period, movement, or tradition.
CCPERB will consider the object’s value in the study of the sciences, such as applied sciences, biological sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, or their branches, by determining whether the object does or could contribute significantly to an understanding of the sciences or scientific practice. CCPERB may also consider whether it is a representative example of a field, theory, or innovation.
CCPERB determines national importance by considering one or a combination of the factors that speak to the degree of value and importance of the object, including its importance in the Canadian context. Factors considered may include the rarity of comparable objects by the same creator in public collections in Canada and the object’s representativeness, contextual associations, provenance or research value. Depending on the object, other factors may be relevant to the determination as to the object’s national importance.
Based on the analysis of the relevant factors, CCPERB will then make an assessment of whether those factors are of such a degree that the loss of the object to Canada would significantly diminish the national heritage.
CCPERB will consider the extent to which the object is represented in public collections in Canada by identifying any copies, versions, editions, or similar objects, and the extent to which the object is unique, equivalent to, or substantively different from those other objects.
CCPERB will consider the degree to which the object has a relationship with a group or community in Canada, or with other objects, or an emotive impact. This relationship should create an understanding of Canada’s cultural diversity or enrich Canadians’ understanding of different cultures, civilizations, time periods, and their own place in history and the world.
CCPERB will consider the degree to which the object’s provenance contributes to its meaning or cultural value.
CCPERB will consider the degree to which the object, as a primary or secondary source, could advance research, a new interpretation, meaning, or understanding of Canada’s cultural heritage, now or in the future.
