Passage of Ontario Heritage Act amendment in jeopardy
March 8, 2005
Word is now circulating that Bill 60, An Act to Amend the Ontario
Heritage Act, could die on the order paper. The Ontario Museum Association
encourages its members to immediately call the offices of their
local MPPs to show support for the proposed legislation. NDP Culture
Critic, Rosario Marchese, has prepared an open letter indicating
support for the bill and encouraging action.
An Open Letter from Rosario Marchese to Friends of Ontario Built
Heritage
Dear friends,
The week of February 21st was Ontario Heritage Week. We had hoped
that by now we would have seen the passage of Bill 60, An Act to
Amend the Ontario Heritage Act. Regrettably, it hasn’t happened.
On February 24, the Minister of Culture, the Honourable Madeleine
Meilleur, made a statement in the legislature, regarding Ontario
Heritage Week. In that statement, she said, "Mr. Speaker, the celebrations
of Heritage Week going on across the province must remind us that,
unfortunately, every year in this province, unique heritage buildings
and sites are destroyed. This must stop." And she described Bill
60 as "the most important changes ever brought to the Ontario Heritage
Act."
If this is so, then why hasn’t the bill passed?
This bill could have been passed in December, before the Christmas
recess. Both the NDP caucus and the Tory caucus were prepared to
support the bill. When the bill was in Committee in late November
and early December, my party proposed a number of amendments relating
to the appeal process to the Ontario Municipal Board and to cemeteries.
Although those amendments were defeated, we made it clear to the
government that we would still support the bill. In fact, I made
a motion for third reading of the bill on December 16th. Regrettably,
my motion did not receive the required unanimous consent.
The Government House Leader, Dwight Duncan, wrote to a number of
people in January in which he stated that the government expected
to move forward with Third Reading during this sitting. But the
government has not done so and all indications are that it will
not do so before the House rises again on March 9th.
If this bill is so important, why isn’t it on the order paper?
A strong possibility now exists that the Government may prorogue
the Legislature at the end of this sitting so that it can have a
Throne Speech when the house resumes sitting some time in April.
If this happens, the bill will die on the order paper unless all
parties consent to it being carried over.
I want to see this bill passed. Every day that it does not pass,
we risk losing more of our important heritage buildings. In the
past I have introduced several private member’s bills to strengthen
the Ontario Heritage Act. I support the passage of this bill even
though it could be improved.
It is time to stop being nice. Arrange to meet face to face with
your MPP, especially if he or she is a Liberal, to urge immediate
passage of this bill. Write or e-mail Premier McGuinty and to the
Government House Leader, Dwight Duncan. If you are writing to a
Minister, mark your letter "Personal and Confidential". This will
ensure that it is dealt with by political staff and not by a government
correspondence unit. Let them know that you want this act passed
now - no more delays. We need this legislation.
Yours sincerely,
Rosario Marchese,
MPP Trinity-Spadina
To Reach Rosario Marchese: P 416 325 6219, 416 603 9664
Ontario Museum Association
50 Baldwin Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 1L4
416-348-8672 or 1-866-OMA-8672
Fax 416-348-0438
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