The fight to restore announced funding cuts to Canadian museums is being stepped up.

A vote Tuesday night in the House of Commons called for funding to the Museums Assistance Program to be restored.

The Conservative government has pledged to cut $4.6 million over two years from the program, which funds exhibits, restoration and other programs in regional museums across the country.

Members of Parliament debated the plight of Canadian museums for more than three hours in the House of Commons Monday.

On Tuesday, they adopted a motion calling for funding for the MAP to be restored to $12 million annually, reversing the reduction of $2.3 million scheduled for this year. 

But, even with a clear House vote, the government is not required to rescind the cuts.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda had no comment on the issue on Wednesday.

On Wednesday the NDP's heritage critic, Charlie Angus, called on the heritage minister to heed advice from the House and give small museums a break.

"It's very cynical politically to go after museums that barely get by," he told CBC Radio.
 
Museums are important to the tourism sector and the vitality of small communities all over Canada, he said.

"We need to tell our cultural arts sector, not only that they are the ones who tell our stories and make of us a nation, but that they are also a serious industry," he said during the debate.

The cut was a surprise buried in the $1 billion in cuts announced by the government Sept. 25.

The news was a shock to the museum community and particularly the Canadian Museums Association, which thought it had an agreement with the Heritage Ministry for a new museums policy that would be more generous with all museums and provide stable funding.

Alexandra Montgomery, executive director of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, says she relies on the MAP now to help with everything from computer software to storage containers.

"Some of the things they fund are not sexy but they're essential so it's a real loss for institutions like the Gardiner who don't receive significant funding from the government through other programs."

The vote for restoring funding was 146 in favour, 114 against, with the government members voting against.

Bloc Québécois MP Maka Kotto urged the government to quickly pass a new museums policy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government should "honour the election promise by the Conservative Party of Canada to implement a new Canadian museum policy with multi-year funding for museums across Canada as soon as possible," she said.

But Conservative MP Jim Abbott said the funding process has to be reviewed.

"There is a fundamental question that has to be answered. What museum, at what place in Canada, should be getting federal funding, and for what purposes?" he said.

The Canadian Museums Association plans a meeting with Oda over the issue.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the program, the deadline for museums like the Gardiner to apply for funding has been moved back from Nov. 1 to a later, unspecified date.