Heritage buildings neglected, says auditor general

Quebec’s designated heritage buildings are too often left unattended, deteriorating over the years, victims of the negligence of the province’s culture ministry, Quebec’s auditor general concluded in a withering report made public Wednesday.

The culture ministry is ignoring its responsibilities, has no leadership and no clear vision of its role in safeguarding heritage sites, Guylaine Leclerc wrote in her report for 2020-2021.

The 300-page report points out government inaction when it comes to classifying and protecting Quebec’s heritage buildings.

For example, 20 per cent of requests for heritage designations for buildings have been under study for more than 10 years, a delay Leclerc found “excessive.” Nor was the ministry able to explain the backlog, just as it was unable to provide any idea of the value of the pool of heritage real estate overseen by its agencies.

While the ministry bases a heritage designation on a site’s being of “national interest,” Leclerc found no clear definition of what that interest might be.

Meanwhile, many of those buildings that are designated are neglected and fall into disrepair.

In 2014, the province pledged to inspect designated buildings every four years to check their condition. However, Leclerc noted that in 40 per cent of the cases those inspections were never carried out.

Leclerc noted also that while the culture ministry, now headed by Nathalie Roy, gave municipalities the task of safeguarding heritage buildings in their territories, it neglected to provide them the tools or support necessary to do so.

The report cites the example of the former hydroelectric installation in Des Cèdres in the Montreal region. The heritage building has been vacant and crumbling for 20 years and the ministry decided only in 2019 to undertake restoration work.

In a statement reacting to the report Wednesday, Roy blamed her predecessors for most of the findings. She has been in office since October 2018.

Leclerc also found shortcomings with the Quebec health insurance board and Retraite Québec when it came to protecting citizens’ personal information. She recommended improving controls and security measures at both bodies, especially when it comes to protecting computer access.