"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Monday 31 March 2014

New lessons learned

I should have added the Heritage Act is permissive legislation. Municipalities don't have to.

I  once had to explain to a lawyer  the difference  between mandatory and permissive .After I  answered his query he  sarcastically asked where I received my legal training

I wish I had  time to follow trends.

Mr. Bray, the Heritage Consultant  states there are 31 districts designated  in Ontario.

There are 444 municipalities in Ontario.

One of the districts is in Aurora and we are spending taxpayers money  again to create a second.

One is underway in Kingston.  A Councillor hopes it will be  completed by the 2014
election.   Mr. Bray is quoted in the Kingston Plan as well.

It would be useful to know why  the Heritage Act was amended by the Province.

It wouldn't be surprising to find  municipalities cited in  the magazine Money  Sense
as best places to live in Canada , as the same  with Heritage Districts.

Considering  financial and monitoring responsibility that goes with authority to designate.
it's easy to see how a whole new industry could be created with opportunities for an army
of heritage consultants and planners.

It  brings back the question of where the  pressure came from for municipal  authority
to  impose district designation.

Supporters of designation  argue insurance  protection  is not affected.

Opponents have discovered something different. An insurance representative merrily
gives verbal  assurance  designation makes no difference. Asked  for assurance in writing
draws a different response.

There are insurance companies which will not insure designated properties.

We all know about fine print .

What a catastrophic lesson to discover after a designated house is lost ,that  authentic heritage
replacement cost is not covered  by the policy.

Informal chats between provincial  bureaucrats and representatives of  the insurance industry would not  count for much in the circumstance.

How much responsibility would the municipality have for leading people to believe  the problem
does not exist?

The issue has been raised in public. The problem is denied .

How much legal responsibility does a consultant have ?


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A consultant is much like a lawyer. Deals with an issue and then moves on. There is no requirement to actually live in an area, nor to personally do the door-to-door travail. They just put the new place's figures into the computer with plans from other studies and press " Print "
This is how the consultants came up with the " comparable
towns for the survey on service charges.

Anonymous said...

This is a whole new industry that’s been created. An industry that of course has no interest in self-sustaining itself, much like the majority of the Culture and Arts industry. The environment industry is much of the same. The wind and solar programs are all subsidized by government. Billions of $ in “start-up” money that has not materialized into any cost or environmental savings. It’s helped in employment!As we know there are lots of consulting opportunities.

Anonymous said...


Those opposing the designation have pointed out the economic pit-falls. Those pushing for it do not want to hear.

Anonymous said...

Those alleged pitfalls have been refuted, 09:28.

Anonymous said...

13:02
Did you discuss this with your bank or are you just repeating what you have been told ?

Anonymous said...

Refuted by the one who received 67K to report on this study. I’ll take any real estate inquiry to anyone of the great realtors in this Town. I think they may know a thing or two about home values , mortgages and dabble in some home insurance inquires in Aurora and across the GTA.