Act
Proposed changes to the Ontario Heritage Act and O.Reg. 385/21 General with respect to certain alteration requests
Regulation Number(s):
O.Reg. 385/21 (General)
Instrument Type:
Act
Bill or Act:
Ontario Heritage Act
Summary of Decision:
Regulatory amendments were required to implement changes made to the OHA through the Less Red Tape, More Common Sense Act 2023 (Bill 139). The statutory amendments come into force on proclamation. All changes will come into effect on July 1, 2024. The amendments are as follows:
Alteration Requests
Section 33 of the OHA, which addresses applications to alter designated properties, was amended to enable streamlining of approvals where proposed alterations to a building used primarily for religious practices involves heritage attributes connected to religious practices, where the alterations of the heritage attributes are required for religious practices and all other conditions of the provision are met
Changes to O. Reg. 385/21 (General) were made to require specified information and material as part of a complete application, outline additional conditions that must be met to qualify for the provision, establish timelines for determining if an application is complete and issue a notice of consent or determine that an application is incomplete and issue a notice of incomplete application, and to define terms as they relate to this streamlined process.
Alteration Requests
Section 33 of the OHA, which addresses applications to alter designated properties, was amended to enable streamlining of approvals where proposed alterations to a building used primarily for religious practices involves heritage attributes connected to religious practices, where the alterations of the heritage attributes are required for religious practices and all other conditions of the provision are met
Changes to O. Reg. 385/21 (General) were made to require specified information and material as part of a complete application, outline additional conditions that must be met to qualify for the provision, establish timelines for determining if an application is complete and issue a notice of consent or determine that an application is incomplete and issue a notice of incomplete application, and to define terms as they relate to this streamlined process.
Analysis of Regulatory Impact:
The proposed statutory and regulatory amendments would impact municipalities as well as the religious organizations and Indigenous communities and organizations that would submit applications under the proposed provision.
Work is underway to analyze possible administrative and other compliance costs that may result from this proposal. To inform this analysis, MCM is seeking responses to the following questions.
Questions: For owners of municipally designated heritage properties that are primarily used for religious practices:
Historically, how often (i.e., times per year) have you submitted requests to your municipality to make alterations to identified heritage attributes connected to religious practices or Indigenous religious or spiritual practices that are required for these practices?
How long does it take you to complete and submit the request (in hours)? How long do you believe it would take under the revised process and requirements?
Who typically completes this work (e.g., administrative staff, senior leadership)?
Are there other costs associated with preparing an alteration request? If yes, what are they and how do you foresee them being impacted by this proposal?
Questions: For municipalities:
How many applications do you receive each year from municipally designated heritage properties that are primarily used for religious practices or Indigenous spiritual or religious practices requesting an alteration to identified heritage attributes connected to those practices?
How long does it typically take to review such an application (in hours)? How long do you believe it would take under the revised process and requirements?
What level of employee in your organization typically undertakes this work (e.g., administrative staff, management)?
Work is underway to analyze possible administrative and other compliance costs that may result from this proposal. To inform this analysis, MCM is seeking responses to the following questions.
Questions: For owners of municipally designated heritage properties that are primarily used for religious practices:
Historically, how often (i.e., times per year) have you submitted requests to your municipality to make alterations to identified heritage attributes connected to religious practices or Indigenous religious or spiritual practices that are required for these practices?
How long does it take you to complete and submit the request (in hours)? How long do you believe it would take under the revised process and requirements?
Who typically completes this work (e.g., administrative staff, senior leadership)?
Are there other costs associated with preparing an alteration request? If yes, what are they and how do you foresee them being impacted by this proposal?
Questions: For municipalities:
How many applications do you receive each year from municipally designated heritage properties that are primarily used for religious practices or Indigenous spiritual or religious practices requesting an alteration to identified heritage attributes connected to those practices?
How long does it typically take to review such an application (in hours)? How long do you believe it would take under the revised process and requirements?
What level of employee in your organization typically undertakes this work (e.g., administrative staff, management)?
Further Information:
Link to Environmental Registry
Proposal Number:
23-MCM001
Posting Date:
October 19, 2023
Summary of Proposal:
As part of the Province's Fall Red Tape Reduction package, the Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism (MCM) is proposing changes to the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) and O.Reg. 385/21 (General) which would require that municipalities consent, without terms and conditions, to proposed alterations to buildings on designated properties, where the building is primarily used for religious practices, the heritage attributes to be altered are connected to religious practices, the alterations are required for religious practices and all other conditions of the proposed legislative and regulatory amendments are met. The proposal would also reduce application requirements and shorten decision making timelines.
Contact Address:
Royal Assent Date:
December 4, 2023
Decision:
Approved