Résolutions

Considering the considerable wealth of heritage buildings, complexes and infrastructure owned by the public sector (governments, municipalities, Crown corporations, public or parapublic corporations, school boards, etc.) that shape the identity of territories and communities,

Considering the current or imminent state of neglect, deferred maintenance or disuse affecting this heritage, as illustrated by F.A.C.E. School and buildings within the health-care network, as well as the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec report on infrastructure, despite the State’s responsibilities and the waste represented by such assets, which could help meet collective needs and address current socio-economic, cultural and environmental challenges,

Considering the efforts of certain governmental, municipal or parapublic bodies, acting as responsible stewards, to ensure the preservation or adaptive reuse of this heritage, and the wealth of experience resulting from these efforts, which deserves to be shared,

The General Assembly of Héritage Montréal calls upon the Government of Québec to:

1. Adopt a policy, publish a unified and qualified inventory of public or parapublic heritage properties, and implement an action plan establishing an obligation of exemplary stewardship for government agencies and organizations subject to Québec legislation or public funding with respect to the preservation, appropriate use and adaptive reuse of these heritage buildings or complexes;
2. Establish, including through legislative measures, mechanisms for information and training, predictability, consultation, funding and professional support for the preservation, appropriate use and adaptive reuse of this public heritage.

Considering that the protection and enhancement of the historical, architectural and landscape heritage of Montreal rests in large measure on the implementation of the laws of Quebec, in particular the Cultural Property Act and the Act respecting Land Use Planning and Development whose reform has been promised for a long time, so as to enable them to better meet current expectations and future challenges while respecting principles set out in the Sustainable Development Act and international obligations on heritage,

Considering that, since 1985, Heritage Montreal has actively contributed to the efforts of many Ministers to improve these laws and to make them more effective in their definition, implementation and incentives, and,

Considering that since the adoption at the Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal on June 4, 2009 of a resolution on the modernisation of the Cultural Property Act, a draft reform bill was tabled at the National Assembly (Bill 82 on Cultural Heritage) offering a valid base for discussion but that no agreement has been reached yet on the process to review and amend or otherwise proceed with it.

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal ask the National Assembly to:

1. Urgently proceed with consultations with concerned organisations and the public on Bill 82 so that it is examined, commented upon, improved, adopted and effectively implemented.

Considering that the protection and enhancement of urban heritage and landscape require an efficient, rigorous and consistent implementation of the planning orientations and rules expressed in the Montreal Urban Master Plan (2004) and Heritage Policy (2005) applied by teams with the necessary expertise and autonomy at the local, municipal and metropolitan levels to ensure the realisation of quality urban projects which are relevant and for the common good,

Considering that since the Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal on June 4, 2009 adopted a resolution asking for the reestablishment of the Montreal Service d’urbanisme and the initiation of the process of updating the Montreal Master Plan with the Office de consultation publique, the City of Montreal and many boroughs have engaged in doing so,

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal endorses the following best practice principles and proposes that they are widely communicated, in particular to authorities and developers, so as to contribute to improving the Montreal model for urban development:

1. Relevance and receivability of the project;
2. Genuine respect for heritage – built, landscape, commemorative, archaeological, natural – and the urban context;
3. Exemplarity of the project’s development and evaluation process by authorities and developer;
4. Innovative and creative aspects of project as a model;
5. Sustainable contribution of the project to the city’s heritage and to its qualities now and in the future (25 year horizon).

Considering the outstanding historical significance of the Lachine Canal and its importance to the history of Montreal and of the country, in particular its industrial history as evident in the many heritage buildings, archaeological sites and landmarks in the urban landscape of the area,

Considering the important challenges for the conservation and revitalisation of that heritage in a coherent perspective towards urban development as is clear with problematic cases such as the former Canada Malting Ltd. complex (currently abandoned) or the conflict surrounding the reconstruction project for the Turcot interchange,

Considering the lessons to be drawn from remarkable revitalisation projects for industrial heritage sites, from education and animation activities by Parks Canada or local community initiatives,

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal asks that

1. The whole area associated with the Lachine Canal benefit from a consistent planning process and concrete measures to ensure its development and the revitalisation of its heritage, most notably its industrial heritage;
2. This work take into account the different scales of building in the area in order to consider them as part of a long-term perspective, and
3. The area and its revitalisation be priorities of the official planning instruments (Urban Master Plan, Agglomeration Plan, Metropolitan Land Use and Development Plan)

Considering the fundamental importance of Mount Royal in the personality of Montreal and the widely recognised need to preserve its dominant position in the urban landscape,

Considering the efforts invested over the last few decades by community organisations like Heritage Montreal for the protection and enhancement of this ensemble leading to the creation of the Arrondissement historique et naturel du Mont-Royal by the Government of Quebec (2005), the adoption of a Protection and Enhancement Plan (2009) by the City of Montreal with particular attention paid to the preservation of views, and the recent and much-lauded decision of the City of Montreal with respect to the former Séminaire de philosophie,

Noting the substantial obstruction of the view towards the mountain from the south and from the Parc / Pins intersection by the recently completed enlargement of McGill’s Molson Stadium for the Alouettes Football Club, in contradiction to the visual simulations presented at the public consultations and to the commitment made by the developer, the City of Montreal and the Quebec Government to the effect that the project would respect and integrate into the heritage landscape of the mountain,

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal asks the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal to:

1. Provide a public and complete explanation for the permanent damage to this heritage landscape carried out with their authorisation and their financial contributions as well as what mitigation measures they propose,
2. Require independent and scientific verifications of visual simulations supplied for any project which may affect the integrity and presence of Mount Royal

Considering the great importance of religious and institutional sites and buildings in the identity and landscape of Montreal and its neighbourhoods, and the pressures including abandonment that these are increasingly exposed to,

Considering that the Government of Quebec or the City of Montreal appear, despite their commitments, to have not adopted and published proactive and integrated strategies that address the many challenges that lie ahead for this heritage as illustrated in the piecemeal approach towards such cases as that of the Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus church in Maisonneuve, its interior décor and its organ,

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal asks that:

1. The Government of Quebec holds specific consultations, adopts, and implements a national and transparent strategy on religious heritage including the publication of criteria for heritage evaluations and tax incentives to stimulate and support projects that would be respectful of the heritage values of these properties.
2. The City of Montreal adopts a corresponding strategy as part of the updating of its Urban Master Plan and Heritage Policy.

Considering that the Canadian Heritage of Quebec is an organisation founded in 1960 by a group of people concerned about heritage under the leadership of late Mr. Colin “Jack” Molson to actively contribute to the safeguarding and enhancement of built and historical heritage in Quebec,

Considering the remarkable and generous efforts this organisation and its volunteers have made and continue to make to accomplish this mission, in particular through the acquisition and restoration of historical houses on the Island of Montreal such as the Hurtubise House in Westmount or the Simon Fraser House in Ste.Anne de Bellevue and the recent creation of the C. Robin Molson Memorial Scholarship at the Faculté de l’aménagement of Université de Montréal,

The Annual General Meeting of the members of Heritage Montreal wishes to express its warmest congratulations for its work on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its foundation.