Cardus pitch for home hits snag
Ontario Heritage Trust says it wants city to deal with think-tank directly
City staff will try to address concerns the Ontario Heritage Trust has with a faith-based think-tank’s proposal to sublease a 19th-century home on the Mountain Brow.
The heritage trust, which is Balfour House’s steward, objects to dealing directly with Cardus to sort out issues with the Christian charity’s plan to restore and use the building.
In a letter to the city, Beth Hanna, trust chief executive officer, said the city’s take that the organization hash those issues out with Cardus is “contrary” to their agreement.
The city, which holds the lease, is responsible for “negotiating any subleases” with potential occupants, Hanna wrote, noting it needs information about Ontario Building Code compliance.
“We are not prepared to lead those discussions on behalf of the City of Hamilton.”
Staff have been in contact with the trust about its concerns, said Jason Thorne, the city’s general manager of planning and economic development.
“They just want to make sure that the city will be a part of those conversations,” Thorne said, adding the next step is for all three parties to meet.
But that’s not the only issue with Cardus’ proposal for the provincially owned estate, which is located at 1 Balfour Dr., off Scenic Drive. Members of the city’s LGBTQ+ community and their allies have objected to the city subleasing the home to Cardus. This should be “setting off alarm bells” given the thinktank’s anti-LGBTQ+ leanings, Graham Crawford and Cameron Kroetsch wrote in an op-ed. On Wednesday, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he doesn’t agree with Cardus’ views but supports the sublease, which has most of council’s backing.
“I don’t agree with Cardus on their views on homosexuality. I don’t agree with Cardus on their views on abortion ... but they’re not breaking any laws, and they’re not asking us to break any laws.”
Coun. Nrinder Nann, who rejects the sublease, said the issue is about “institutional power” and a private organization using it to forward thinking that “impairs the freedom” of others. She added many Christian organizations in the city have “done the due diligence” to create “very inclusive” policies.
Last week, Michael Van Pelt, Cardus president and CEO, said: “We come out of a Christian tradition, and we are not apologetic for that.”