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It’s really a no-brainer.

The government, without consultation and an understanding of its practical impacts, imposed an arbitrary, very tight deadline for Ontario municipalities to review their municipal heritage registers — and decide whether their listed (non-designated) properties should be designated, failing which they would be kicked off the register and lose all protection. Scores of municipalities across Ontario have been scrambling, working hard to meet the deadline: January 1, 2025, now less than 11 months away. Almost all could use more time to comply.

Ontario's Bill 23 proposes two new changes to Heritage Conservation Districts: the application of criteria for cultural heritage value to district designations; and new rules for amending and repealing Heritage Conservation District plans.

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Is “shall be conserved” in peril?

Lost in the “bomb” of Bill 23 and the ensuing fury, a different provincial government initiative threatens to undermine another vital part of Ontario’s heritage protection regime.

Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, takes a sledgehammer to key parts of the Ontario Heritage Act and Ontario’s cultural heritage protection system.1

One of the more insidious proposals — not getting nearly enough attention in the slew of outrageous changes — takes aim at how we define cultural heritage itself.

It’s almost Orwellian.