The changes to the heritage…

The changes to the heritage act are damaging to culture, to the environment, and won't actually help create more affordable housing.

First of all, the changes will obviously result in more heritage buildings being demolished, so we will lose community culture and history in the process. Places that have been around far longer than current politicians shouldn't be rushed through a process to be destroyed. We should not leave provincially owned landmarks such as Ontario Place vulnerable to the whims of politicians and the developers who line their pockets. These changes in designation requirements from one criterion to two also mean that some of the less obvious buildings of historical significance, including buildings of significance to Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQQIA+, and other diverse communities in Ontario, are more likely to be destroyed.

Furthermore, the destruction of buildings is damaging to the environment and contributes to the climate crisis by releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere and taking up unnecessary space in landfills. A faster and more environmentally friendly option would be to retrofit existing buildings for affordable housing, which would already be part of communities and connected to transit instead of being in the middle of the greenbelt.

Finally, these changes are completely unrealistic and do not reflect communities' abilities to process buildings. There is no possible way for municipalities to be able to designate all properties on the register list within 2 years, and to put that kind of pressure on them is unfair.