These proposed changes are…

These proposed changes are irresponsible to society:

It is wrong to force municipalities to drop “listed” properties from from their heritage registers if they are not designated in two years.

It is wrong to enable the Crown in right of Ontario or a ministry or prescribed public body to exempt themselves with complying to protections for designated heritage properties if the exemption could potentially advance one or more of the following provincial priorities: transit, housing, long-term care and other infrastructure or other prescribed provincial priorities.

It is wrong that the proposals will make it harder for municipalities to protect heritage conservation districts (HCD) proposing that the HCD must meet two or more of the criteria in order to be designated.

It is wrong that proposal introduces a regulatory authority to prescribe processes for municipalities to amend or repeal existing HCD designation and HCD plan bylaws.

By making it easier to remove properties from the register these proposal are simply overriding the extensive work and evaluation that has been put in to get these unique natural heritage properties on the register in the first place. Designating buildings is a cumbersome process that has been left to volunteers on heritage communities within communities. These changes, especially the delisting of properties that have not been designated after two years, devalues decades of work by these volunteers .

This government should be doing more to show that conservation of heritage buildings matters not eliminating them so developers can tear them down and build.

In summary I object to all the above provisions mentioned above in the new proposal for the Heritage Act.