Just a few days ago we were hoping to hit even 500 signatures….
Over the last few days so many of you shared your passion and determination for keeping Halton Heritage Services that we’re now nearing 1000! 🥹
The message is loud and clear, Halton Region: shutting down Heritage Services is something nobody asked for or requested. You made this decision at odds with—and without the participation of—the very community you have a duty to serve.
At the time of writing this update, the article is the single highest trending piece on Halton Hills Today, with 2.5X more engagement than the second-highest article. 😮 If that doesn’t say how critical this issue is to reverse course on, I don’t know what does
Yet even in the face of all our emails, this petition, hundreds of social media posts, and increasing press coverage of their reckless decision, the Region continues to only offer canned responses.
When we ask “WHY the shutdown?” they only answer with HOW the shutdown will occur. No answers have been provided about the $8M that was earmarked in the strategic plan for Heritage either.
Their best response essentially offers a ‘promise’ that artifacts and documents will be deaccessioned with care. As far as the community is concerned, that’s simply ‘less bad’. What they fail to address is how devastating a blow and how short sighted a decision it is to stop collecting, documenting, researching, educating, and supporting a healthy Heritage ecosystem across the region.
We want ‘more good’—not less bad.
I genuinely believe in Council and their ability to come around on this. It just takes one, two, or three Councillors to step forward and say “We should have done this better. We can fix this.” And, especially after the last two weeks, when that happens an entire community will have your backs in getting Heritage Services back on track.
Please consider sharing the Halton Hills Today article with your networks. And even commenting directly on the article. The comments being posted show the passion and determination of our community to KEEP Heritage Services, and every voice in those forums matters!