I am deeply frustrated by…

I am deeply frustrated by the Ontario government’s attempt to push through Bill 108 with little consultation with municipalities and citizens, and I am very concerned by the ramifications of this bill, especially the negative consequences on community building/planning and our critical heritage and cultural resources. The bill is sweeping (it overhauls more than a dozen different acts), and it will have a considerable impact on municipalities in decision-making and community planning. Further, there is currently a lack of available information and details about the impact of this Bill on the local level, and the timeline to submit comments on the proposal has been abrupt and insufficient, which makes me very weary of the process. When the previous government implemented the LPAT there was a much more collaborative process involved, and rolling back all of these efforts without consultation is beyond irresponsible and reckless.

Further, I am deeply concerned by Bill 108’s changes to the Ontario Heritage Act, which poses significant risks to Ontario’s heritage protection policies and which undermines assessment and conversation rules regarding heritage preservation efforts. The bill sides entirely with property owners and developers and has little to no regard for local communities. I certainly understand the importance of development for cities and communities, but I also deeply value the cultural and heritage resources in my community, and once a heritage property is demolished, it will never return. I foresee the outcome of this rushed approval to build will result in the unnecessary destruction and loss of our heritage buildings and other resources. Ontario has such a rich legacy of heritage resources, a legacy I hope to pass down to our future generations, but I fear that this bill will cause irreparable damage to our cultural and heritage resources in favour of developers making a quick profit. Due diligence is important, yet this bill will do irreparable harms to conservation policies that are currently working under the Heritage Act. Heritage impact assessments, archaeological assessments, and other safeguard measures are fundamentally important and should be considered in planning decisions. While the current system is imperfect, it does provide protection to our heritage buildings and properties, and I, for one, certainly do not want to see this process eliminated. Heritage conservation is a local matter that regards community values and local history, and it should be handled by municipal council and advisory committees who have expertise and who understand and support specific community needs. Bill 108 takes away the local community’s right to have final say on local heritage issues and what is important to them, and I find this deeply concerning.

As a citizen of the Province of Ontario and resident of the municipality of Oshawa, I do not think that this bill is in the best interests of citizens; this bill is solely in favour of developers and will cause irreparable damage to vibrant local communities, impact municipal decision-making processes, and deplete our cultural and heritage resources, all so developers can make a bigger profit. I urge the government to take Schedule 11 out of Bill 108, as it poses significant risks to our cultural heritage resources, and I also implore the Ford government to engage in more fulsome municipal consultation with city councilors and residents, before deciding on implementing such sweeping, and potentially quite devastating, changes.

Signed,

Dr. Laura Thursby, PhD and Chair of Heritage Oshawa