Heritage is more then a standing structure...

So I have been looking for a house to buy. I have even looked at some heritage homes. But man, that is a whole crazy kettle of fish. As I kept researching heritage properties in Atlantic Canada and the subsequent committees, guidelines, by-laws, and apparent etiquette of owning one of these homes, I realized that once again there was a glaring implicit statement here. Our only heritage and heritage of worth are structures that currently exist. Some may argue but I say the proof is in the pudding my friends.

http://www.heritagefredericton.org/
http://www.truro.ca/truro-heritage-visitors-309.html
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/heritage.trust/

The heritage movement in Atlantic Canada apparently excludes any kind of First Nations contribution or any early european contribution that has the poor luck of not having any aboveground evidence. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying these organizations are not doing good work, they simply aren't going far enough. How do we change it?

Changing something like this needs a two pronged approach. There needs to be a grassroots, ground up strategy for education, appreciation, and understanding. There also need to be a top down change in government policy at all levels (federal, provinvial, and especially municipal). The top down policy changes need to have harsher penalties for those who break a law or by-law. Developers will destroy something if it is cheaper to do that and pay the fine then to halt a project. Unfortunately, they need to see that it is more costly to do wrong then to do right. Also, the grassroots can get involved here to apply public pressure--newspapers, protests, boycotting, etc.

As always, I need to be the change I want to see. It is one of the reasons I started to write this blog in the first place.

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