Friday, November 24, 2017

The blog takes a bow!



Today, it’s all about the blog.


I don’t often get to toot my own horn, but … drum roll please.

At the joint National Trust for Canada and Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals awards ceremony in Ottawa last month, I received an Award of Excellence for the blog in the Heritage Awareness, Education and Scholarship category.






It is a great honour and pleasure to have been recognized by CAHP with this award.

For those curious about how the blog came to be, here is the story.

OHA+M was launched in the depths of February 2015 — Heritage Week to be precise. 2015 marked the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1975 and the 10th anniversary of comprehensive amendments to the Act in 2005. As former senior policy advisor with the Ontario culture ministry and the lead policy expert on the 2005 changes, I wanted to write a behind-the-scenes account of the province’s long and tortuous path to stronger heritage legislation over the 30 years between.

But there were few forums for an article of this type. Existing publications tended to be discipline-specific and limited in their scope and reach.

So, as a platform for telling this and other “policy stories” about the beginnings and evolution of Ontario’s heritage legislation, policies and programs, I opted to create my own on-line vehicle, a blog that would reflect my legal and policy background and interests. The inaugural post was “Welcome to my new blog — and the OHA at 40.”

The name OHA+M highlights the focus on legislation, public policy, and tribunal decisions.  But over the last two and a half years the blog has evolved into something more.  Besides the main fare, it is (now and then) a bit of a bully pulpit.  Sometimes it vaunts my favourite places and subjects (ruins, por exemplo).  Often posts are imbued with personal recollections.  One of my favourites is a tribute to conservation pioneer Peter Stokes.



New posts to OHA+M get cranked out every two-three weeks — and, with this one, number 68 in all!

Considering that posts are usually 1000+ words in length, that’s a lot of blah-blah.

In June 2016 the blog welcomed its first guest author, heritage architect Michael McClelland, writing on the OHA and the "New Heritage.”  (Hey, I’m looking for more guest bloggers!)

OHA+M now consistently attracts 400-500 pageviews a month.  While information is limited and largely anecdotal, the readership (this means you) appears to be mainly those with a professional interest — consultants, heritage planners, heritage educators — and members of volunteer organizations — municipal heritage committees, Architectural Conservancy Ontario members.

Indulge me while I share some of the positive feedback on the blog:

  • “WOW - another super article from your blog. Great to see the Gore Park reference so I am forwarding it to all the heritage groups in Hamilton — Friends of the Gore, Heritage Hamilton, HeritageWatchHamilton, etc — and it should go to the Councillors.” Carol Priamo, Hamilton, on a post about a redevelopment project on Gore Park.
  • “I enjoyed reading your blog post on the Building Code. Your explanation was clear and it was well illustrated.” William Gerard, Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
  • “Great update Dan, thanks for your diligence. I especially liked the quotes from parliamentarians on all sides.” Amy Calder, Vancouver, BC, on a post about Bill C-323.
  • “The blog is a great general resource for topics in heritage; I definitely recommend becoming a subscriber.” Samantha Irvine, ERA architects
  • “A very logical and succinct analysis Dan! Bravo and thank you. Let us hope it garnishes the attention it deserves!” Dave Colby, President, Rondeau Cottagers Association, on a post about the situation at Rondeau Provincial Park
  • “Thanks again for your great postings — most enjoyable.” Owen Scott, Guelph

If I had to describe (in typical bureaucratic fashion) the goal of OHA+M, it would be to develop an increased awareness and understanding of Ontario heritage policy through:
  • the publication in an on-line format of information on the historical development of the province’s policy and programs,
  • analysis of and commentary on current heritage issues, including court and tribunal decisions, and
  • providing an on-line forum for stimulating discussion of current heritage policy and issues.

The blog faces some challenges in meeting this goal, including:
  • not much of a forum — in part this is because the Google Blogger commenting function is awkward, contributing to few reader comments (most feedback is received by me via email rather than through comments posted on the blog)
  • statistics on who/how many are subscribing to and reading the blog are limited
  • promotion is weak (mostly word-of-mouth)
  • limited research capacity, as the blog relies on one person (me, a volunteer)

But thanks to more very good news, help with these things is on the way!  Another drum roll.



I am very happy to announce that I have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Heritage Resources Centre at the University of Waterloo for the hosting of the blog.

The transfer of the blog to the HRC website is tentatively scheduled for early 2018.


For those not familiar with the Heritage Resources Centre, check them out here.  The HRC sees the benefits of the blog to the HRC as “expand[ing] its role as ideas generator and centre for the discussion and debate of heritage legislation, policy and issues.”

From my end, collaboration with the HRC will bring the blog heightened awareness and attention, not to mention a better, more interactive blog platform, greater outreach including social media promotion by the HRC, and even assistance with research by UW students.  Looking ahead, the association may assist both sides in exploring potential public and private sector funding sources to help sustain and expand the blog.

The commitment of the Heritage Resources Centre to house, manage and promote OHA+M marks a major turning point for the blog.

You’ll be hearing more about this soon.

But without you, dear reader, none of this would be happening.  I don’t say it enough: thanks for reading!



Friday, November 3, 2017

Bill C-323 at committee




Just a few weeks ago in mid-late October, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development (ENVI) took up detailed consideration of Bill C-323.  This is the private member’s bill we’ve been following that would provide income tax incentives for heritage property. [1]

Heritage enthusiasts have been advocating for such measures for decades.  For heritage conservation in this country the incentives in the bill would be a game-changer.

Much of the argument for the income tax measures included in Bill C-323 relies on the experience of our neighbours next door.  The U.S. historic tax credit, which goes back to the 1970s, is in fact the main model for the tax credit proposed in the bill now before Parliament.

Very ironic, then, that just as Canada may be finally groping its way toward such a measure, the United States is proposing its elimination!



No comment … except what should surprise us coming from the current U.S. President and Congress?

While the poor National Trust for Historic Preservation south of the border rallies the troops to beat back the wacky proposal to ditch the (historic) U.S. historic tax credit, our own National Trust for Canada is engrossed with a national effort to urge Canadian parliamentarians to seize the day — and spring for key income tax and other tools for preserving our heritage.

Here is where things stand.




The ENVI committee held two days of hearings on Bill C-323, the last stage of its more fulsome study of the federal role in heritage conservation that we got a taste of last time. [2] The study was a smart move, as it gave the committee background and context for considering the particular income tax policies on offer in the bill, while also looking at the need for a broad suite of legal, financial and other measures to address the generally stingy and laggardly federal approach to cultural heritage.

Over the two days the committee heard from several more witnesses.  First up was Peter Van Loan, the bill’s sponsor, who gave a vigorous plea for the proposed tax measures.  Then came officials from Parks Canada and the Department of Finance.  Just after Mr. Van Loan, a former cabinet minister in the Harper government, had given the committee a pep talk about standing up to the bureaucrats [3], they politely poured cold water on the bill, although not in very convincing fashion and not without some squirming under questioning.

More officials, this time from the office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, offered guesstimates as to the potential cost of the bill’s tax measures (in the $60M range); they too fielded some pointed questions.  Lastly, the committee heard a generally supportive presentation by a former director for tax policy legislation at Finance, who had worked with former Parks Canada executive director Christina Cameron on the unrealized early 2000s efforts to develop a tax policy for heritage.

And that was it.  At the following meeting, last week (October 26), the committee went in camera — members would have been discussing their findings and conclusions and the next steps in producing the report on their study of the federal role in heritage.

And likely how they will proceed with clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-323, which is reportedly scheduled for November 20th to 24th. [4]

Sources say the committee’s report on its study — which would presumably include its recommendations with respect to Bill C-323 — is expected November 28th.

Meanwhile … the government continues to say it is not supporting the bill.

What will the ENVI committee say in its report and could that change the government’s mind?

The answer may depend on the public response — the response from all of us who believe the time has finally come for game-changing tax incentives for heritage!

Watch this space.



Note 1: See previous OHA+M posts, starting with ”Finally, a federal tax incentive for heritage?"

Note 2: The two days of ENVI hearings on the bill can be found here.

Note 3: In response to a question about why the previous government hadn't acted, Mr. Van Loan said:

My assessment at the end of the day is that we have something called the Department of Finance. Their default posture is always no. It's no to additional tax credit programs. The only way things like this happen is when politicians choose to exert political will and exercise their authority to give that direction and say, “This is a priority for us. We want to see it happen.” We are in the position of being able to do that.

I think we've seen that dynamic at play here already. I don't put it down to a partisan dynamic at all. I put it down to the natural bureaucratic response of a Department of Finance that will say that to any program like this, anywhere.

When you've talked about tax credits in the past, I think it probably would not surprise anyone that none of those came as initiatives from the Department of Finance. They all came as initiatives of politicians, political platforms, finance ministers, prime ministers, whoever thought it was important to do these things. I think we're in a similar situation here in terms of the tax credit.



Note 4: At clause-by-clause consideration a committee studies each clause of a bill and votes to adopt it, delete it, or amend it. When this is done the committee is ready to report the bill back to the House.