The exterior of the House Assembly building in Nova Scotia.
at Westminster was originally the preeminent legislative body within the Empire, the Legislatures in the Commonwealth are now equals and operate as such within the framework of the association. The objectives of UNESCO
World Heritage Site designations are compatible with those of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Both are international in their scope, intended to broaden understanding and respect among disparate cultures, and constituted to recognize and promote high achievement at a level having standards of universal acceptance. In its World Heritage Mission
Statement, UNESCO states: “Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and
what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage is both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration... [UNESCO] seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding universal value to humanity (emphasis the author’s).” UNESCO states the
significance of a UNESCO designation is “... its universal application – World Heritage Sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.” Designation of the Palace of
Westminster as a World Heritage Site established definitively that a
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Parliament is a cultural entity as much as it is a political entity. As such, the two Legislatures of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are cultural institutions within the full meaning and spirit of the UNESCO World Heritage Mission. Among the ten criteria listed by
UNESCO as the criteria enabling a place to qualify for designation, in addition to those allocated to the Palace of Westminster, others also could be considered as relevant and as enhancing the opportunity for designating the Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island legislative buildings:
(iii) Testimony to cultural tradition: “...to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural
tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared.”
(v) Traditional human settlement “... to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land use, or sea use which is representative of the culture (or cultures) or human interaction with the environment...”
(vi) Heritage association with events of universal significance “... to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.”
The legislative buildings in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island