Niagara, Ontario Heritage Advocate Appeals To Province’s New Premier To Take Heritage Seriously

By Pamela Minns

Heritage in Ontario is in trouble ! 

At present it is under a ministry called the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport – the Minister is Michael Chan;  this has just been confirmed as part of the new cabinet for Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario……and as always, it is last on the list of Ministers announced !

The gutted remains of the historic old Welland Club along the canal in Welland, Ontario. Abandoned and ultimately a target of arson – another case of what heritage activists sometimes refer to as “demolition by neglect.” Photo by Doug Draper

Heritage is buried in “culture” and is squeezed in between Tourism and Sport — we don’t have a name and we don’t have a hope unless we do something to change it !  We need a proper Heritage Minister in this province — one who will stand up for heritage and, as legislation allows, will indeed fight for it and intervene when necessary.

Please see the letter I have written to the new Premier;  I hope those of you who are involved in heritage preservation will write to the Premier about the sad state of affairs we now have in heritage and urge her to appoint a proper Heritage Minister.

Heritage preservation can only be effective if we have a strong ministry with strong leadership.  Volunteers who work in heritage need support from the top.  Right now the only thing that keeps it afloat is the strong passion of the volunteers involved !

Let’s get letters in to the Premier NOW;  this change is needed if we want to protect the heritage of Ontario.

Pamela J. Minns, Thorold, Ontario

An Open Letter from Pamel Minns to Ontario Premier, The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1A1

Re.  Heritage in Ontario

Dear Premier Wynne: 

First of all, congratulations on your new position as Premier of Ontario.  You are very brave – you have taken on a huge and complicated job in leading our province. 

Heritage in Ontario is in trouble !  Support for the preservation of our built heritage needs to start at the top – that is, support from our various levels of government, or it will fall by the wayside and we will lose our past history forever !

A section of Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines, Ontario, a designated Ontario Heritage District, now shelled out for a multi-storey condo tower. And it was all allowed under the province’s Liberal Dalton McGuinty government. So much for protecting heritage districts in Ontario. File photo by Doug Draper

Your new cabinet was named very quickly before we, in the heritage community, had an opportunity to comment on the work of the present Minister in charge of heritage in this province.  First of all, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport  looks after the matter of heritage (culture includes the arts, culture and heritage), and is squeezed in between Tourism and Sport, which certainly downplays its importance to the government and the residents of Ontario.   The fact that the province removed “Heritage Day” (3^rd Monday in February) completely from the calendar and replaced it with what is called “Family Day”, shows the value they place on the heritage of this province.  We had celebrated Heritage Day since 1974.

Our heritage is basically in the hands of volunteers who work extremely hard and have a passion for the preservation of Ontario’s heritage.  They have a huge job on their hands and not many tools with which to work.  There are many, many  problems we face daily in trying to preserve our heritage for future generations.  I have made a list of 42 items entitled “The Weakening Position of Heritage in Ontario” — this is extremely sad especially in Niagara, where there is an abundance of history and built heritage ! 

Heritage is losing ground in our province – there have been numerous instances to substantiate this statement, and even with the up-dates which were made to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005, there is a weakening occurring because of lack of leadership and support for those working in the field.  There have been many times when the Minister could have intervened to help, protect or save our built heritage, but it has not happened.  Volunteers are mostly ignored and are attempting to carry on without the support they need – it is their passion that keeps heritage afloat.

First of all we need a proper Minister of Heritage…..this Ministry (Tourism, Culture & Sport) is always at the bottom of the list (check out the announcement on your new cabinet !) and it keeps getting weaker and weaker, to the point where it is so watered down now, that heritage is buried.  I have been involved in advocacy for heritage preservation for the past 30 years, and the problems are increasing. The past few years have been a disaster as far as the loss of our built heritage is concerned, and OMB hearings, which are never on a level playing field, constantly favour development over heritage preservation.  Training has gone by the wayside and there is no funding to support heritage;  any funding that was in place at one time, has been cut. The volunteers who do this work are totally ignored by the province; this has created burn-out and disappointment.  

We never hear from the Minister – we do not feel that Michael Chan has been effective in this role – in fact he has been almost invisible;  his assistant – Kim Craitor, although from Niagara, has also been a huge disappointment; he, was a “no show” (no apology, no notification) at a General Meeting of a Niagara heritage group, where he was on the program and slated to speak.  This certainly shows lack of respect for the people of Ontario who are volunteering their time to make this province a better place to live (to say nothing of the embarrassment caused to the organization involved !)  

We need a Minister of Heritage – not one who is buried in other duties, one who will support the preservation of heritage in this province and will, in fact, fight for it! 

If the Government of Ontario is truly interested in saving its past, we need your support.  Nothing that we see today indicates that the province has the slightest interest in heritage preservation.  If we want to have Ontario’s heritage saved for my children and yours, we need this support to start at the top – and that is with an effective Minister of Heritage in place, who understands the legislation, respects and supports the volunteers – and acknowledges them, and, as present legislation already allows, is willing to come forward and take a stand when needed. 

Heritage volunteers are discouraged and disappointed.  We would ask you to re-consider the present Ministry by removing “heritage” from it and appointing a proper Minister of Heritage who is willing to take charge and will step forward to help the volunteers in Ontario save the heritage of this province for future generations.  We need a separate Ministry for heritage not one that buries this important issue among tourism and sports and arts and culture! 

The present set up is NOT working.  Heritage needs to have a name and a Minister who can lead the way for those who work at the grass roots.  At present, the passion of our volunteers is at work every day but they need to know that the provincial government is behind them !

We are anxious to have your comments on the above.

Yours very truly, Pamela J. Minns

Pamela Minns is a Niagara, Ontario resident and long-time advocate for protecting and preserving heritage sites in the greater Niagara region. 

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