As a member of a municipal…

As a member of a municipal Heritage Preservation Panel, I want to vigorously object to
the following terms of the proposed legislation:

[Non-designated properties currently included on a municipal register would have to be removed if council does not issue a notice of intention to designate (NOID) within two years of the amendments coming into force.] & [Non-designated properties included on the register after the proposed amendment comes into force would have to be removed if council does not issue a NOID within two years of the property being included.]

Municipalities rely on expert certified members of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) to complete the NOID report sections: Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest & Description of Heritage Attributes.

It is my belief that there is an insufficient number of certified members available to complete tens of thousands of reports for properties all across the province.

Rather than imposing an arbitrary, illogical limit of two years, a more objective approach would be to allow the municipalities to obtain prospective quotes and timelines, then, prepare an organized schedule to reflect that realistic financial and resource capacity.