Landmarks Not Landfill
The National Trust believes that sending landmarks to landfill is a crime against our environment and an unacceptable waste of our cultural heritage.
Canada's communities are made up of heritage properties that define our local and national identity and give shape and texture to our urban and rural neighbourhoods. The rehabilitation of heritage buildings stimulates the economy, revitalizes communities, and creates jobs. It also supports sustainability by consuming less than half the energy of new construction and reusing existing municipal infrastructure.
The provinces and municipalities are doing there part to protect and rehabilitate Canada's heritage buildings. But they are missing an important partner--the Government of Canada. Unlike cultural and environmental heritage, there are currently no federal measures to encourage the rehabilitation of Canada's heritage buildings.
Partner Support
Property developers, municipalities and heritage organizations have joined the National Trust in making presentations to the Standing Committee on Finance calling for federal tax incentives for the rehabilitation of heritage properties. Along with the National Trust, we include some of them here:
Heritage Canada The National Trust
Woodcliffe Corporation, Toronto
Urban Space Property Group, Toronto
Commercial Properties Ltd., Saint John
Heritage Resources Centre, University of Waterloo
As part of the Landmarks, Not Landfill campaign, we have been encouraging municipalities to pass resolutions calling on the federal goverment to establish tax incentives for the rehabilitation of heritage buildings. And an impressive number of municipalities have passed such resolutions, as has the National Board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Here is a sample resolution.
