On April 14 the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) released the latest draft of the proposed new provincial policy statement under the Planning Act. Called the Provincial Planning Statement 2024, the proposal is posted on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) and open for public comment until May 12. [1]
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.
We continue to look at the implications of Bill 23 for Ontario’s 140+ Heritage Conservation Districts.
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.
Port Hope has stared down Goliath over the demolition of the old Port Hope Hospital - for now, at least.
Last time we looked at what might be coming in the province’s new housing-focussed “policy instrument.”1 Now it — the proposed new Provincial Planning Statement — is here!
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 and the ERO
Bill 23: This Game of Chicken Will Have a Bad Ending [1]
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.