It's been a while since I've posted an update here, and I owe you one. A lot has happened since the summer. 

For one, my wife and I welcomed our first child. Nothing makes you think about the future — and the value of preserving our history — quite like watching a new generation enter the family. I want him to grow up in a region that values where it came from, and where his children's children can learn all about Halton's rich past. 

And if we have anything to do about it, one day he'll be reading about the blip in time when Council thought it was a good idea to do away with Heritage Services — and how they finally came to their senses to backtrack on such a disastrous idea. 

What's happened since the petition launched?

In July 2025, Halton Regional Council voted behind closed doors to shut down Heritage Services and scatter or dispose of approximately 30,000 artifacts. This petition was my response. More than 2,000 of you signed it. Thank you.

Since then, a small group of citizens — including heritage professionals, academic researchers, former public servants, and community members — have been working behind the scenes to fight this decision. Here's where things stand.

The wins

1. National media picked up the story. CBC, Global News, CHCH, and insauga all covered the closure and the public outcry that followed. The story isn't going away.
   
   
2. A group of citizens made public delegations directly to Regional Council in December 2025. Multiple delegates, including heritage experts and community advocates, spoke on the record about the impact of this decision.
    
3. An Ontario-wide museum & archives survey was completed. The results are being summarized and prepared for publication, and will demonstrate benchmarks and standards for archival collections — including exposing the gaps and oversights in the Region's plan to offload the collection.
   
   
4. Formal investigations have been filed challenging whether Council's decision to shutter Heritage Services was lawfully made in closed session.
   
   
5. FOI requests have been and continue to be filed and an appeal is now before the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The Region claimed exemptions to avoid releasing key documents related to the heritage closure. That appeal is ongoing.

The frustrations

1. Regional Chair Gary Carr has not responded to a single email about this issue. Not one. Dozens of emails from citizens, academics, heritage professionals, and former politicians. Zero replies. An Ombudsman complaint was filed directly to him in October 2025. The Integrity Commissioner declined to investigate.
   
   
2. The secret report that Council voted on — Report #CA-13-25 — was prepared behind closed doors. The report was based on a taxpayer-funded study, executed by Lord Cultural Resources, a consulting firm and the process is fraught with errors end-to-end: Halton Region executives rewrote the recommendations and appropriate community members weren't consulted. Amazingly, Council voted to shut down Heritage Services, despite it being the ONLY option in the report with more cons than pros. And how did a report, that was commissioned to answer how to improve the operating model of Halton Heritage Services, end up including an option to shut it down anyway? 
   
   
3. Some local officials have been unresponsive. Others have expressed support privately but failed to act on the promises made in meetings. 

What's next?

Our group is organizing. We're planning a strategy session this month. And we will be making available tools to make it easier for residents to learn about what's happening and to contact their elected (and want-to-be-elected!) officials. And beginning with the next update on this page, you'll start hearing directly from members of our coalition — people with deep expertise in heritage, governance, and public policy who have been doing the real work behind the scenes to hold Halton accountable. 

October 2026 is a municipal election. We intend to make sure every candidate knows where the public stands. And make sure the public knows where every candidate stands. 

If you haven't already, please share this petition with your neighbours, your local community groups, and your social networks. 

Thank you for standing with Halton's heritage.

— Kevin