1. by Mark Gladysz and Robin Etherington
culture
Cultural Economics
NAFTA sets stage for municipalities
at the international level
In 2014, The North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) marked a
20th anniversary, and Mexico-Canada
diplomatic relations celebrated a 70th an-
niversary. On February 19, 2014, Enrique
Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, Stephen
Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, and
Barack Obama, President of the United
States of America, met in Mexico for a
“Three Amigos” meeting. This article
focuses on the role of municipalities in the
process to enrich NAFTA as it enters its
third decade. From a municipal perspec-
tive, there are many cultural and eco-
nomic opportunities. Smaller, community-
based cultural events can contribute to the
overall success of trade among the “Three
Amigos” countries. The discussion about
how culture contributes to international
trade agreements and economic develop-
ment is now critical.
Canada and Mexico already have a
tradition of cultural exchanges and joint
economic opportunities. The Seasonal
Agricultural Workers Program has op-
erated over the past 40 years and the
Canada-Mexico Partnership for 10 years.
Many universities in Canada have a
curriculum dedicated to teaching about
diplomatic, economic, and cultural rela-
tions between Mexico and Canada. For
example, the Canada-Mexico Cultural
Exchange Centre is located at McMaster
University in Hamilton, Ontario and
the National Autonomous University of
Mexico (UNAM) has had a campus in
Gatineau, Quebec since 1995.1
International Cooperation
at the Local Level
Municipalities also have been active
in educating professionals and politi-
cians about the benefit of cross-cultural
MARK GLADYSZ MCIP, RPP,
CMM III has 30+ years of mu-
nicipal planning experience in
various Ontario communities,
including reurbanization, urban
design, infrastructure, historic
preservation, public space ani-
mation, municipal incentives
programs, and project management of special
studies and construction projects. His area of
expertise is regeneration of older commercial and
residential areas.
ROBIN ETHERINGTON MA,
MLPW, CMM III has 30 years of
professional work experience in
cultural management, includ-
ing national and international
museums, various orders of
government and BIAs, manag-
ing strategic, heritage, and cul-
tural planning and policy development initiatives,
sitting on advisory committees, teaching at the
college level, and public speaking.
1 UNAM in Gatineau, Quebec: <www.canada.
unam.mx>.
2 Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM):
<www.fcm.ca/home/programs/international.
htm>.
3 European Commission: <http://ec.europa.eu/
culture/index_en.htm>.
Ottawa’s Bytown Museum is located in the Commissariat Building – part of the Rideau Canal National
Heritage Site (1925) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2007). Photo: Bob Acton
and trade ties at the municipal level in
the NAFTA countries. In Canada, the
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
International Program funds initiatives
that encourage exchanges between mu-
nicipalities.2
However, most Canadian cities have
not explored the potential of coordinating
with international organizations. Europe
provides many examples of the potential.
The European Union encourages cities to
think internationally through its Capitals
of Culture program, in order to unite
Europe into one economic market and
political entity.3
To understand how Canadian cities
can reach out internationally, several
programs come to mind, such as Sis-
ter Cities, UNESCO World Heritage
February 2015 Municipal World 23

2. Sites, and the Intelligent Communities
initiatives.
Sister Cities
After World War II, a “Sister Cit-
ies” program was re-energized in 1947
to further peace, trade, and economic
development. It is a prevalent program
throughout Europe. Many cities in
Canada have an international “twin.”
For example, Ottawa is a twin city with
Beijing, China; Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Seoul, South Korea; and Catania, Paler-
mo, and Campobasso, Italy. The program
has tremendous potential for achieving
international trade at the municipal level
across Canada.
UNESCO
All three NAFTA countries have
UNESCO World Heritage Sites. That
privilege alone ties them together, cultur-
ally and economically. Canada is home
to 17 of these sites. World Heritage Sites
afford their locales an immense opportu-
nity to invite global travellers to see their
place and invest in their local economies,
since people are attracted to unique
places and experiences. In addition, these
sites have “cachet,” and international
businesses seriously consider places
with “cachet” when they locate their
operations in a new location. Therefore,
municipalities need to be equally serious
about their World Heritage Sites being
part of the local economic development
and tourism strategies.
Montreal and Quebec City have be-
come particularly adept at working with
international organizations and ventures.
Quebec City has extensive international
ties, mainly due to the UNESCO World
Heritage Site designation of the Historic
District of Old Québec. In 2005, Mon-
treal was designated a “UNESCO City
of Design.”4
Montreal, too, has recog-
nized that design contributes to the city’s
economy. Design is the leading sector in
the cultural industries of Quebec, with
benefits that amount to 34 percent of the
total economic impact of culture.5
The 2007 UNESCO World Heritage
Site designation of the Rideau Canal
recognized it as a vital part of Ottawa’s
history, both as a unique engineering
feat and because of its human accom-
plishment. The canal resulted in the
founding of Bytown, which became Ot-
tawa in 1855. Today, the international
designation is contributing to Ottawa’s
pride of place and phenomenal boom
in downtown redevelopment, economic
expansion, and increases in tourism and
conferences being attracted to Ottawa.
Intelligent Communities
Intelligence entails the innovative
use of information and communication
technologies that in turn ensures flour-
ishing and sustainable economies. The
Intelligent Community Forum Founda-
tion6
has created a network of Intelligent
Communities that contribute to global
economic growth. Many cities appreci-
ate their intelligence and understand that
it enhances their chances for attracting
creative workers, businesses, and tourists.
This intelligence can be parlayed onto the
international stage, as Waterloo, Ontario
has done with its high-tech centres of ex-
cellence and its international connections.
ICFF applies the benefits of the
broadband economy to cities so that they
prosper in the 21stcentury. All three
NAFTA countries are strong in this re-
gard. Canadians are noted as the most
“wired” people in the world. In 2012,
Ottawa was invited to join the Intelligent
Community Forum Foundation and is
a part of a global network of Intelligent
Communities. Its 2,000-plus technology
companies provide a vibrant infrastruc-
ture that addresses international require-
ments for smart tools and services. This
intelligent use of technology contributes
greatly to the city’s world competitive-
ness.
For municipalities to derive maxi-
mum benefit, it’s important that all cul-
tural economic endeavours are online
and broadband-based. “Perspectivas,”
an online exhibition among the NAFTA
countries in 2001, lead the charge.7
All
businesses, government services, educa-
tion, health care, as well as cultural ven-
ues are expected to be accessible online
and via smart technologies.
Case Study – Bytown
Museum, Ottawa
Musée Bytown Museum manages an
Ottawa-based collection, started in 1898
by the Canadian Women’s Historical
Society of Ottawa. The museum was es-
tablished in 1917. In 1951, it moved into
the Commissariat Building that is part of
the Rideau Canal National Heritage Site
(1925) and a UNESCO World Heritage
Site (2007). The museum receives local,
national, and international visitors.8
The museum partnered with the
Embassy of Mexico in Canada, UNAM,
and the Mexican-Canadian Cultural As-
sociation of Ottawa-Gatineau to mount
an exhibition to educate Canadians about
the cultural and economic relations be-
tween Canada and Mexico, as well as the
vibrant Mexican community in Ottawa.
México Fantastico: Culture, Community
and Diplomacy was featured at the mu-
seum from May 5, 2013 to February 17,
2014. The embassy and UNAM loaned
artifacts for the exhibition and sponsored
a successful mescal tasting event as a
fundraiser for the museum, as well as
a lecture series about Mexico-Canada
relations. Cerveza Dos Equis (Bières
Mexicaines du Quebec) sponsored the
opening reception, while a local Mexican
restaurant (Ahora) provided a dinner as a
door prize.
The exhibit cost less than $10,000
and entailed partnerships among the
museum, local organizations, and in-
ternational institutions. The result was
international recognition of an Ottawa
community museum, attraction of local
residents and tourists, an increased sense
of community pride about local ethnic
community history, and a contribution
to the local economy as visitors ate
and shopped downtown. The executive
director of the Bytown Museum now
participates on the community advisory
committee of UNAM Canada, which
resonates throughout Ottawa as a vital
component of the Mexico-Canada cul-
tural trade relations.
The museum is consciously employ-
ing the tools of cultural economics. It
4 Montreal, UNESCO City of Design: <http://
mtlunescodesign.com/en>.
5 Study by the Ministère de la Culture et des
Communications et de la Condition féminine
du Québec, 2001: <www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/in-
dex.php?id=4075>.
6 Intelligent Community Forum Foundation:
<http://www.intelligentcommunity.org>.
7 Virtual Museums: <www.museevirtuel-virtual-
museum.ca/index-eng.jsp>.
8 Bytown Museum: <www.bytownmuseum.
com>.
24 Municipal World February 2015

3. is proactively placing its collection re-
cords online and using social media to
promote programs and to communicate
with community members and visitors.
The museum’s “Youth Council” com-
municates their research results by way
of blogs, podcasts, and online videos.9
Exhibitions, such as México Fantastico,
use QR codes and monitors connected
to the internet. A cultural organization
using current technology contributes as
much to Ottawa’s “intelligence,” as do
the high-tech companies. The museum
also actively incorporates the UNESCO
World Heritage Site designation into pro-
motions about coming to Ottawa and the
museum. It plans future initiatives with
NAFTA and international partners.
Conclusions
Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.A. want
to share their culture with each other and
the world. It is the basis of diplomatic
and economic relationships, and an en-
hancement of each country’s capacity to
succeed globally. For all three countries,
cultural economics occurs at the national
level among politicians, organizations,
and businesses, as well as at the munici-
pal level. Each level aims to enhance
trade and cultural exchange, as part of
the world economy.
Visitors want an authentic experi-
ence when they visit a city. They want
to experience what “local people do and
enjoy,” such as markets, food, music
festivals, museums, and galleries actively
celebrating the community. The City
of Ottawa supports community-based
cultural experiences, along with larger
venues. Due to this activity, coupled
with upgrading its transportation system,
downtown revitalization, parks, schools,
and businesses, Ottawa has become
a “creative city” that attracts visitors
worldwide and people to live and work
there. The municipal government is
proactively placing Ottawa on the world
stage as the capital of Canada in 2017, as
part of Canada’s 150th birthday celebra-
tions.10
The economy in which all citizens
work and live is now global. Municipali-
ties have an enormous opportunity to
rethink their own economic growth strat-
egies to incorporate this international re-
ality. They have the resources and means
to take full advantage of free trade agree-
ments such as NAFTA, as demonstrated
by the case study of a small Ottawa
community museum working with local
and international Mexican organizations
and achieving an international pres-
ence for itself and its municipality. This
assessment can be applied to all trade
agreements, such as the recent Canada-
South Korea trade agreement, the Latin
America Free Trade Association, and the
Trans-Pacific Partnership. All munici-
palities have the capacity to participate
at the global level by marshalling local
businesses, business improvement areas,
economic development offices, tourism
organizations, and cultural resources to
focus on international trade and cultural
tourism. MW
9 Bytown Museum Youth Council: <http://by-
townyouthcouncil.wordpress.com>.
10 A Renewed Action Plan: For Arts, Heritage and
Culture in Ottawa (2013-2018); City of Ottawa.
February 2015 Municipal World 25