Compensation in the Ontario Heritage act

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Compensation in the Ontario Heritage act

Postby newsposter » Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:20 pm

Normally historic designation is a negotiation between the government and the property owner. But the province or municipality does have the power to designate over the owner's wishes. This very rarely happens, but is a factor in negotiations. The power of the province in this negotiation is stronger than the power of municipalities. This can be a problem, especially given that the province is 'downloading' designation more and more on municipalities.

The Alberta Historic Resources Act says that when a property gains provincial historic designation, compensation to the owner is at the discretion of the Minister. For municipalities to designate there is no similar flexibility, and owners are required to be compensated for "loss of economic value". No one knows what term means - the wording is unique in provincial law - and it has not been legally tested. Here is language from the Ontario Heritage Act, which makes compensation there more clear (thanks to Chris Edwards for digging this up):

From the Ontario Heritage Act

"Compensation where property designated

63. Where property is designated under section 52 and no agreement as to the payment of compensation has been reached by the Minister with the owner, the owner shall be entitled to compensation for personal or business damages for the period provided for in the order designating the property, and the Expropriations Act with respect to the negotiation, payment and fixing of compensation applies with necessary modifications as if the designation and the resulting restrictions imposed by this Act were an expropriation of rights. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, s. 63."
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