I am a Past President of ACO…

I am a Past President of ACO, as well as ACO Toronto as well as a heritage professional. I was founder of Doors Open, have twice been awarded the Queen's Jubilee medal for contributions to Ontario's heritage, as well as the Ontario Association of Architects Order of DaVinci for contributions to the architectural profession. My comments do not represent an ACO position.

I have been working with the Ontario Heritage Act since 1980. I was heavily involved in the changes to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005, working to gain government support on all sides of the house for the changes.

I would like to see Schedule 11 taken out of Bill 108 to allow for more full consultation in order to develop a more balanced set of changes. I fail to see how a rushed, unbalanced set of changes to the Ontario Heritage Act, which introduces more red tape into heritage processes is going to expedite housing construction in Ontario.

Some of the changes which are proposed are helpful, some are not. Some represent a radical departure from the founding principal of the OHA of leaving heritage designation in the hands of those who know best what is important to community, namely local municipal councils. The legislation contains far too many unknown quantities which could radically change how the process works. There are many other matters which could be included that would be very helpful in administrative matters, but which were not considered. Matters such as a process to amend a Heritage Conservation District, or make sure that the public has the right along with Council and property owners to appeal decisions. Whoever hears appeals needs to have expertise in heritage administration.

The process involved in drafting these changes did not involve consultation with heritage advocates or professionals, these changes seem to be driven by the development industry and hence are very unbalanced. They may serve to discourage municipal participation.