Parks Canada won't preserve historic N.S. lighthouses

Parks Canada says it's not interested in running two lighthouses in Nova Scotia that have been declared surplus even though they sit on national historic sites.

The lighthouse in Louisbourg and one on Georges Island in Halifax Harbour were both among nearly 1,000 lighthouses declared surplus in May.

Larry Ostola, director general of historic sites for Parks Canada, said the agency already manages 14 lighthouses across Canada, including five that are designated national historic sites.

"There's really no operational or program requirement to acquire any further lighthouses to add them to our portfolio," he told CBC News.

Ostola said Parks Canada will try to help community groups that want help taking over lighthouses.

"What we would be prepared to do is if there are community groups who are interested in working with us, we would be prepared to try to facilitate their access to those sites if they were to acquire them," Ostola told CBC News.

Community groups can apply to take over heritage structures

There was some hope that Parks Canada would step in and take over the Louisbourg lighthouse. Earlier this week, Conservative Senator Michael MacDonald said he thought the Louisbourg lighthouse might be "safe."

"The one in Louisbourg is pretty safe because it's a national historic site; it's on Parks Canada property," MacDonald said Monday.

But Ostola said Parks Canada will not get money to maintain more lighthouses than it already does.

"There are no financial provisions associated with the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act," he said. "I'm not aware of a current source of funds that could be tapped into."

That means community groups or municipalities will need to apply for the lighthouses to be declared heritage properties — and assume ownership of them — in order to guarantee their continued maintenance.

The lighthouses in Louisbourg and Georges Island are among 138 active lighthouses in Nova Scotia the federal government no longer wants to maintain.

Across Canada, the surplus list includes 488 active lighthouses and 488 inactive ones.

Representatives of the Canadian Coast Guard have said those lighthouses were declared surplus because there are cheaper ways to provide navigational help to mariners.

Parks Canada is legislated to oversee the transfer of lighthouses to community groups in order to protect the heritage character of the old buildings.

Any interested individuals or groups have been given two years to apply to take over the surplus lighthouses.

Ottawa has not committed to maintaining the lighthouses that are unclaimed after that time.