Héritage Montréal welcomes the publication of the audit by the Office of the Auditor General of Québec (VGQ) on the preservation and enhancement of real estate assets. This report is unprecedented. We are pleased to see some of our recommendations echoed in it, notably:
- The exemplary role of government and municipalities as guardians and protectors of the real estate heritage entrusted to them;
- The importance of professional resources, expertise and collaboration with the public, heritage organizations and academia;
- Incentives, notably tax credits, to encourage conservation and requalification projects.
Recommending a heritage watch, the VGQ cites as an example our H-MTL Platform, which enables "the visualization of an evolving portrait of vulnerable sites of heritage interest in Montreal and its metropolitan region."
The VGQ notes the need for "strong government leadership". As such, Héritage Montréal believes that it is high time Quebec adopted a genuine government heritage policy that recognizes heritage as a collective asset to be developed with a sustainable and proactive overview, rather than reacting to one crisis at a time.
Héritage Montréal offers its collaboration to the government and the Minister of Culture to diligently implement the Auditor General's recommendations and make Quebec a model to follow.
Publication of the Auditor General of Quebec's report on the heritage of the Auditor General of Quebec
