The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act should be removed from Bill 23.
There is no rationale or proof that the proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act in Bill 23 More Homes Built Faster Act 2022, will increase or help the supply of affordable housing.
Heritage Conservation is not undertaken at the expense of affordable housing, but rather provides an opportunity for sustainable, creative and meaningful growth of cities and towns through the integration of the existing with the new.
The proposed changes have been done without proper consultation with municipalities and stakeholders and instead represent a blatant and destructive attack on the legislation and practices which enable the conservation of Ontario’s heritage, disguised as meeting the need for affordable housing.
The proposed requirement to have all listed buildings designated within 2 years of the Act will put 32,000 provincial heritage properties at risk. The listing of these properties has been part of a painstaking process undertaken by municipalities over the past 50 years since the OHA was first declared in 1975. The listings are useful information tools for planning growth and development.
Requiring that a property must now meet two of the criteria for designation instead of one will make it more difficult, if not impossible, to conserve the heritage of under-represented and marginalized communities in the province.