I was disheartened to read…

I was disheartened to read of the proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act. I believe that these changes will seriously undermine local communities' right to determine what aspects of the past the community values and wishes to pass on to future generations. If these changes become law, the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal will be able to undo the work of democratically elected councils - and the Municipal Heritage Committees and trained heritage planning staff who support them - and have the final say on approving, revoking or amending heritage protection bylaws. To make matters worse, there seems to be no provision to ensure that LPAT members have any heritage background or expertise or any understanding of the values of the community they are judging. A case in point is Port Hope, Ontario, the town in which I live, and a town for which heritage is fundamental to its existence. Indeed, heritage is the Town’s economic driver of, among other things, real estate, tourism and filming. LPAT would not understand this. Heritage decision making should be left in the hands of the local governments which understand the values of their communities.
Please do not make these changes to the Ontario Heritage Act. Please continue to allow municipalities to make their own heritage decisions in accordance with the wise provisions of the current act.