The proposed changes in Bill…

The proposed changes in Bill 23 threaten our heritage but won’t lead to more truly affordable or attainable housing - this is simply a misguided attempt, which will lead to irreversible erosions in heritage and land conservation policy.
· The change in the “threshold” for designation, requiring that two criteria be met rather than one, will make it almost impossible to protect humble buildings and places associated with the historic contributions of Black, Indigenous, Franco-Ontarians, multicultural and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in Ontario.
· The changes to the Ontario Heritage Act will stymie recognition of cultural diversity in Ontario.
· The changes to the Municipal Heritage Register and listing undermine the importance of local planning, limit the ability of local Municipal Heritage Committees, and place undue pressure on municipal staff and volunteers to protect local heritage properties.
· Forcing municipalities to designate all listed properties within 2 years or drop them from the Register is draconian and totally unrealistic. It will result in tens of thousands of listed sites losing what little protection they have.
· Property owners shouldn’t be forced to choose between listing and designation to recognize the heritage significance of their property.
· Changes to the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties leave provincially owned landmarks such as Ontario Place vulnerable to the whims of politicians and developers.
· The quickest way to create more housing is to re-use and adapt existing older buildings. Convert old schools to affordable apartments, for example, or homes for seniors. Fix and re-use our older neighbourhoods already serviced and connected by transit to offer affordable housing alternatives.
· Conserving Ontario’s heritage is of the utmost importance. Loss of heritage sites and our older buildings means loss of jobs in the renovation and tourism industries, and loss of our sense of place. Destroying older buildings releases embodied carbon and contributes to climate change.

Most importantly: Ontario sees many historic and character defining buildings that are lost daily - often to development. These are the places that hold our history, that define who we are and where we've come from. The loss of these spaces and places, not only tears the historic and aesthetic heart out of communities, but often is followed by the construction of nameless and placeless suburbs. As noted above, Bill 23 makes it easier for developers, who are primarily driven by profit, to create poorly designed, auto-centric, and anti-social communities. Without proper legislation that builds affordable, diverse and well-designed communities, Ontario is headed on a trajectory that would see its beauty and character lost forever.