Hello I would like to offer…

Hello
I would like to offer my comments on the proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act. I have been a heritage planner both in the private and public sectors for over 30 years. I have generally been supportive of the changes to the Act over the years as they have been mostly positive, well-researched and fair to all involved in the process. However, that is not the case with the changes in the recent past nor the current amendments.

The proposed amendments seem to strive to make it more difficult to conserve and protect the heritage resources that are important to communities across Ontario. Conservation of heritage resources is not an impediment to the provision of additional or attainable housing. There are countless examples of heritage resources being incorporated into new housing developments and it has made those areas very special as they help tell the story of our evolving communities.

My key points:
• Changes to the Act have been so complex it makes it challenging for the volunteer sector or those communities without staff assistance to understand the process and to adequately protect our resources (even heritage staff are having difficulty). We are not all Toronto! Whatever happens, please quickly release educational materials such as a new Heritage Act Toolkit to help those in the wilderness.

• To force the removal of listed properties from the Heritage Register after two years if not designated is extremely troublesome, impractical and contrary to the objective of originally creating these types of listings. And not to be able to return to the Register until after five years (what in the world does that achieve other than leaving identified heritage resources unprotected?) A Register is supposed to provide a transparent public inventory of all the protected and potential heritage resources in a community. Listing provides no protection other than notice if demolition is proposed. Many municipalities have spent countless dollars, staff resources and volunteer time creating these Registers (as requested by the province) and listing resources only now to be told that the objective is to dismantle the inventory and to do it in an unreasonable timeframe. There are many more arguments against this senseless proposal that others will make, but my basic request is - Please let us retain our listed properties – they harm no one but do alert us when the resource is threatened with removal.

• The concept of making designation more difficult by increasing the number of criteria a property has to meet is also of major concern. We are told to start designating listed properties, but it will also be more challenging to achieve if this is pursued. Some very significant properties only meet one criteria, and raising the bar will certainly exclude a number of simple/local heritage resources that help tell the story of my community. Designation should reflect what is important to the local community from a heritage perspective and this may be different across Ontario. Again this proposal seems to be another solution looking for a problem.

• My last request – Consultation – we used to do it in Ontario and it used to be meaningful. Legislation can (and should) always be reviewed and improved and should be amended from time to time to resolve issues of concerns to all who use it. Unfortunately, that has not been the case here. There are many participants in the heritage community who have much experience with using the Heritage Act and could help make meaningful improvements that address issues experienced by all parties. Can we not put a hold on these amendments and start a civilized period of consultation and dialogue? I hope we can.

Heritage resource comprise such an infinitesimal percentage of buildings in our communities and even with our current policies, they continue to disappear. These changes will make it even harder to protect our heritage and will no doubt lead to its loss. Which will be a real shame, and not the type of province I want to live in. Thank you for this opportunity to provide my feedback.