City officials are trying to get to the bottom of a surprise letter from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, hoping it won’t present another unexpected “bump” in plans to demolish 40 buildings on the south side of downtown Colborne Street.
The letter, from Chris Schiller, manager of culture of the ministry’s culture services unit, informed the city that the ministry has taken an interest in the city’s demolition plans and requests that it conduct a full assessment under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act of the stretch of properties slated for imminent demolition.
According to the letter, obtained by The Expositor, the assessment is to include a “thorough heritage evaluation … prior to any demolition of the properties noted to satisfy that there is no provincial interest in these properties.”
The letter also requests that the city carry out an archaeological assessment “required” under the province’s regulations for determining archaeological potential -“prior to any ground disturbances and/or site alterations.”
The licensed archaeologist must carry out the assessment, it insists.

Oh, the sweet taste of sanity!