CONSERVATION OF HERITAGE MASONRY IN CANADA: A CURRENT PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Canada is a young country with respect to its built heritage. The need to conserve examples of its structures as a record of the history of settlement and growth has been recognized for some time by the somewhat small conservation community. The heritage conservation sector is growing compared to new construction. Unfortunately, there is a distinct lack of professional expertise (architects and engineers) familiar with the older traditional construction materials and methods, leading to some recommendations with respect to heritage structures being inconsistent with conservation principles. There is even less knowledge with respect to understanding how modern interventions will affect the construction supposedly being conserved. There is therefore a need for education in conservation principles and methodology. Two new programs are described, one at the undergraduate level at Carleton University, and the other at the graduate level at the University of Calgary. Both of these programs are being developed with advice from the Heritage Conservation Directorate of Public Works and Government Services Canada. The potentially negative consequences of the current lack of expertise for heritage structures are compounded by the current system for deciding whether or not a structure has heritage value. The system is inconsistent across the country, depending on how the guidelines interpreted and enforced. The federal and provincial and some municipal governments have collaborated in establishing guidelines for their areas of responsibility, but there is no overarching regulation for the protection of heritage across the country.