The Minister of Culture and Communications makes a stop in Aylmer

The round of public consultations on the renewal of Quebec’s cultural policy made a stop in Aylmer on August 22, at the Cabaret La Basoche.

The Aylmer Heritage Association (AHA), as well as other groups, jumped at this opportunity to express their concerns to the Minister of Culture and Communications Luc Fortin and his team.

“Since they were in a heritage building, in a region that has lots of history and that has the most heritage buildings of any other region on both sides of the Ottawa River – 500 documented heritage buildings, still standing –  we strongly encouraged them to visit the sector. And, you know what, they did! They walked down Rue Principale and they visited the Musée de l’auberge Symmes,” says Micheline Lemieux, AHA President.

Before this consultation, the AHA had submitted a brief highlighting the concerns and recommendations for the protection of heritage buildings, their environment and the natural environment, as well as the role of municipalities, owners and citizens.

 

“The commitment to protect cultural heritage in accordance with Bill 82 is not always followed. Municipalities have been given this responsibility, but still do not have the expertise required to fulfill their mandate. Lack of a heritage architect within the teams in place is often a problem. Expertise should be in the following fields: sustainable development, natural heritage, conservation, heritage buildings, engineering, urbanism and heritage architecture. Strides have been made in some sectors but, owing to a lack of financial resources,  the needs in different areas of activity cannot be filled,” states the brief.

The brief presented by the AHA also included six recommendations to counter some of the shortcomings. The first is that the MCC support municipalities so that they have the necessary expertise for heritage preservation and conversation.

 “One of the problems is that the City of Gatineau often doesn’t have the necessary resources because of a lack of funds and municipal funds come from our taxes and from the province,” explains Ms Lemieux.

To address the lack of resources, AHA’s recommendation to the Ministry is “to have a standby team of experts available for municipalities and to give more support to groups that share their heritage expertise with municipalities.”

The AHA also suggests that municipalities develop fiscal measures to better support owners of heritage buildings for the conservation and restoration of their buildings.

The AHA would also like the Ministry to offer better guidance for the protected zones within the Architectural Installation and Integration Plans (AIIP) in order to have harmonious development in designated neighbourhoods.

In Aylmer, the Auberge Symmes is the only heritage building that has a protection zone of 152 metres. The building has a heritage designation and is included in Old Aylmer’s AIIP.

Finally, to get the younger generation interested in local history and heritage, the AHA recommends that the MCC work with the Ministère de l’Éducation to develop a platform in the education system that includes local and regional history, and the importance of heritage for our communities, as early as elementary school.    
 (Trans.: CB)