This bill will be disastrous…

This bill will be disastrous for heritage in Ontario; indeed, it seems almost a punitive measure maliciously designed to destroy our provincial heritage. As with so many aspects of Bill 23, it takes power away from communities to determine their own heritage policies, allowing the provincial government to override crucial decisions made by people who belong to these communities, understand the history of these communities, and have fought to preserve the heritage landscapes and buildings in these communities.

In short, Bill 23 seems to have designed to destroy local autonomy and sense of place, without recognizing the importance of heritage to our social and cultural fabric. It is, quite simply, an outrageous decimation of what many of us hold dear to our hearts, values, and collective identity.