Heritage Incentive Programs : The Key to Achieving the Potential of Heritage Conservation in Ontario

This paper explores heriage conservation and its implementation in Ontario and argues that changes to the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005 raised concerns about the infringement of private property rights for the conservation of a public good. The author argues that greater honesty, foresight and more robust incentive programs are critical to the effective conservation on Ontario's cultural heritage resources and in balancing public and private interests. A survey of heritage incentive programs identified that Ontario's 10 largest municipalities offer at least one incentive program for designated property owners. The survey also identified numerous small municipalities with a rich complement of incentive programs. Recommendations are provided for more flexibility both in the framework and approach to heritage conservation in Ontario including expanded heritage incentive programs, greater flexibility in alterations to heritage buildings and less onerous requirements for heritage incentive program applications.