Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act
| Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act | |
|---|---|
| Senate of Canada | |
| |
| Citation | S.C. 2008, c. 16 |
| Considered by | Senate of Canada |
| Considered by | House of Commons of Canada |
| Royal assent | May 29, 2008 |
| Commenced | May 29, 2010 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: Senate of Canada | |
| Bill citation | Bill S-215 |
| Introduced by | Patricia Carney |
| First reading | October 30, 2007 |
| Second reading | December 6, 2007 |
| Third reading | December 13, 2007 |
| Second chamber: House of Commons of Canada | |
| Member(s) in charge | Larry Miller |
| First reading | January 31, 2008 |
| Second reading | March 11, 2008 |
| Third reading | May 1, 2008 |
| Status: Current legislation | |
The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (French: Loi sur la protection des phares patrimoniaux) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada (designated Bill S-215) for the designation and preservation of historically significant Canadian lighthouses. It was passed by the Canadian Parliament in May 2008. The act set up a public nomination process and sets heritage building conservation standards for lighthouses which are officially designated. First introduced in 2000 as Bill S-21 in the Senate of Canada the bill enjoyed consistent multi-party support despite the unpredictable legislative agendas of minority Parliaments and was repeatedly re-introduced. The final vote of approval was made by the Canadian Senate in 2008 and the bill received Royal Assent on May 29, 2008.
The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (S.C. 2008, c. 16) came into effect on May 29, 2010, and established a deadline of May 29, 2012 to nominate lighthouses for heritage designation. However an announcement in June 2010 to declare almost all Canadian lighthouses as surplus caused critics to accuse the Canadian Coast Guard of emasculating the bill.
The first designations under the Act were announced on 3 August 2012: the St. Paul Island (Nova Scotia) in Dingwall, and three in Saugeen Shores, Ontario, McNab Point and both the Front and Rear Range lights at the Saugeen River Front. As of February 2017, a total of 92 lighthouses had been designated.