Borders in Globalization Conference, September 26 2014, Carleton University
Regional Borders
and
Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Prepared by Joel Konrad, PhD; Rebecca Sciarra, MA; and
Annie Veilleux, MA
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Introduction and Scope
Can regional boundaries help us
manage Ontario’s cultural heritage
record?
If so, do regional boundaries represent a
new scale for addressing land-use
planning and economic development?
• The field of conservation planning and
cultural resource management
• Presentation Overview
•
Borders and cultural resource management
and conservation planning
•
Cultural Heritage Landscapes: Definitions and
Policy Context
•
Absence of a Regional Framework: Problems
and Issues
•
Future areas of inquiry
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
How do borders intersect with cultural
heritage resource management?
Historic boundaries define and categorize
Ontario’s cultural heritage record
Map showing the
Toronto-Carrying
Place Trail, from
Percy J. Robinson’s
Toronto During the
French Regime
(1933).
The Humber River is designated as a Canadian Heritage River, in part because of its
associations with the Toronto Carrying Place Trail. This trail followed the Humber
River Valley northward over the Oak Ridges Moraine to the headwaters of the west
branch of the Holland River. It was one of a number of water and overland routes
used by early Aboriginal peoples that connected Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay and
Lake Huron via the Lake Simcoe watershed..
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
How do borders intersect with
cultural heritage resource
management?
Practitioners operate within cultural
regions – examining flows of
cultural influence and the
aesthetics of place.
Stone foundations composed of Credit River sandstone, located 9 km
outside the East Credit Valley watershed and within the Etobicoke
Creek watershed.
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
How do borders intersect
with cultural heritage
resource management?
Legislative and regulatory
frameworks are applied
within political jurisdictions
and across land
management units
Excerpt of City of Hamilton Official Plan, showing identified cultural heritage
resources located within the municipal urban boundary.
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Defining ‘Cultural Heritage Landscape’
• 2005 and 2014 Ontario Provincial Policy Statements
• a defined geographical area of heritage significance which has been
modified by human activities and is valued by a community. It involves a
grouping(s) of individual heritage features such as structures, spaces,
archaeological sites and natural elements, which together form a significant
type of heritage form, distinctive from that of its constituent elements or
parts. Examples may include but are not limited to, heritage conservation
districts designated under the Ontario Heritage Act; and villages, parks,
gardens, battlefields, mainstreets and neighbourhoods, cemeteries,
trailways, and industrial complexes of cultural heritage value
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Managing Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
• Ontario Heritage Act, 2005
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1974 Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act (revised 2009)
1976 Environmental Assessment Act (amended 1997)
1990 Cemeteries Act (amended 2007)
1990 Planning Act (amended 2009)
1990 Environmental Protection Act (amended 2009)
2004 MEI Class Environmental Assessment Process (revised 2008)
2005 Provincial Policy Statement
2005 Greenbelt Act
2005 Places to Grow Act
2006 The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe
2006 Draft Duty to Consult Guidelines
2006 Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act
2007 ORC Heritage Management Process & Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Process
2009 Green Energy Act
2010 Ministry of Tourism and Culture Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Provincial Heritage
Property
2010 The Northern Growth Plan
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Why are cultural heritage
landscapes an important
component of public policy?
• A democratized cultural
heritage record
Pipe bowls excavated from
the Skandatut
archaeological site; a site
that together with a nearby
ossuary, express sacred
traditions and settlement
patterns associated with the
Huron/Petun and also reflect
upon the final moments of
the permanent Iroquoian
occupation in this portion of
the South Slope prior to the
migration of these
communities northward to
Huronia.
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Why are cultural heritage
landscapes an important
component of public policy?
• Environmental
protection
Stairs leading through High Park, City of Toronto. Deeded to the City of Toronto in
1873; used as park land since 1873; retains an early 19th century regency cottage;
recreational facilities; Oak Savannah; now identified as an Area of Natural and
Scientific Interest (ANSI).
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Why are cultural
heritage landscapes
an important
component of public
policy?
• Economic
development
Ice-skating on the Rideau Canal, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006.
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Absence of a Regional Framework: Problems and Issues
• Historic and civic identity structured and confined by the municipal scale
• Variability in municipal heritage policy frameworks and impacts at the borderlands
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Historic and Civic Identity Confined by Municipal
Boundaries
• Heritage regulation authorizes
‘places’ of historic and civic
identity
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Historic and Civic Identity Confined by Municipal
Boundaries
• Political mechanisms to define civic identity
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Historic and Civic Identity Confined by Municipal
Boundaries
• Contested municipal
identity: Brantford, Six
Nations and Regional
Heritage
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Policy Gaps at the Borderlands – Holland Marsh
Case Study
• Holland Marsh as a
Cultural Heritage
Landscape
Holland Marsh, aerial view.
Holland Marsh, 1954.
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Policy Gaps at the Borderlands – Holland Marsh
Case Study
• Regional policy classifications – The
Green Belt Plan and Holland Marsh
categorized as ‘Specialty Crop Area’
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Issue: Policy Gaps at the Borderlands – Holland Marsh
Case Study
• Municipal Officials Plans –
Lack of area specific cultural
heritage resource policies for
the Holland Marsh
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Areas of Future Inquiry and Resulting Questions
1. Does scale jumping and do regional boundaries for cultural heritage landscapes present new
opportunities for economic development, recreation, and sustainability objectives?
2. What are some mechanisms for regulating cultural heritage landscapes situated at the
borderlands?
3. What inter-jurisdictional governance models or assessment techniques might be possible to
address cultural heritage landscapes located at international borders?
4. How does the archaeological record relating to cultures operating in the Great Lakes Region
in the pre-contact period tell us about the coalescence and dispersal of specific cultural
and/or linguistic communities?
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9
Regional Borders and Cultural Heritage Landscapes in Ontario
Thank you
Archaeological Services Inc. 528 Bathurst Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2P9