Canadian government agencies and foundations are pouring money into plans and projects for the bicentennial of the War of 1812.
Americans, not so much. So far the funding tally for the bicentennial commemoration stands: Canada, $19.5 million; U. S., $5,000.
The $5,000, so far the only donation from the American side, was approved last week by the Niagara County Legislature.
No money for the bicentennial was included in this year’s Erie County budget, and funding requests are supposed to be submitted by this fall, according to Grant
Loomis, spokesman for Erie County Executive Chris Collins.
“As a general rule, Erie County doesn’t fund individual events. We fund cultural organizations after a review process. The amount is generally about $5 million, and there’s heavy competition for those dollars,” Loomis said.
Gov. David A. Paterson vetoed a bill last summer that would have created a state commission for the War of 1812, similar to one that helped with the 250th anniversary observance of the French and Indian War.
No dollar amount was attached to the bill, but based on the French and Indian precedent, it probably would have brought in about $500,000, said Thomas E. Schofield, a Youngstown resident who serves as vice president of the Niagara Bicentennial of the War of 1812 Legacy Council Corp.
“It was vetoed because [Paterson] thought the state lacked the resources,” Schofield said.
“We’ve been working so far with funding from the Canadian side, and New York needs to catch up,” Schofield told the Legislature.
Much of the Canadian funding is for large projects, said Vincent Del Buono, a Niagara-on- the-Lake, Ont., legal analyst who serves as Legacy Council president.
The Ontario and Canadian governments have earmarked $3.4 million each for a makeover of the Niagara Falls, Ont., Historical Museum.
Also, Parks Canada has lined up $6 million for improvements at Fort George, on the Niagara River just south of Niagara- on-the-Lake, along with an additional $500,000 for new signs on the Niagara River Parkway.
Del Buono said the Fort George work will include a new visitor center and repairs to the log palisades around the fort.
Canadian federal and provincial governments also put in $4.87 million for a visitor center at Old Fort Erie, across the river from Buffalo.
The Legacy Council’s Web site, www.discover1812.com , and the first edition of a bicentennial map were funded through a $200,000 appropriation from the Regional Municipality of Niagara, $165,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and $150,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism. Canadian Heritage and Parks Canada supplied $45,000 for a seminar in Hamilton, Ont., April 23-24 on the role of the arts in the bicentennial. Del Buono remains optimistic that American funds will eventually flow.
“New York State’s struggles will not continue forever,” he said. “The level of volunteer involvement and grass-roots interest on the American side is impressive.”