Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act

Lighthouses are instead merely subject to a property management program called the Federal Heritage Building Review Office (FHBRO).

[7] Many politicians responded positively but the leadership for the bill emerged from a fitting East Coast/West Coast partnership of two Canadian Senators, Mike Forrestall from Nova Scotia and Pat Carney from British Columbia.

Forrestall first introduced the Bill in 2000, noting that lighthouses were neglected national symbols, "The government was hell-bent on tearing them down or abandoning them.

[9] Under the Act, the Minister responsible for the Parks Canada Agency sets criteria to designate a heritage lighthouse, based on historical, architectural, and community values.

Before a lighthouse that has been declared surplus by the government can be designated, a group must provide a written commitment to Fisheries and Oceans Canada to acquire it, protect is heritage characteristics and to make use of it in a manner that will be financially viable.

An exception is made for renovations in an emergency circumstance or for urgent operational requirements for the lighthouse's navigational role.

The House of Commons debated the bill in June 2005 in Second Reading and referred it to the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development for clause-by-clause review.

[18] Other MPs such as Catherine Bell from British Columbia welcomed an initiative to preserving a national landmark as a healthy alternative to contentious partisan issues of a minority Parliament.

[19] The only formal opposition was voiced by a Bloc Quebecois MP Raynald Blais who said he could not support the bill because it might mask federal neglect of other DFO responsibilities.

[25] It has yet to be designated because ownership cannot be transferred from the federal government to the Town of Saugeen Shores due to the uncertainty created by First Nations land claims to islands in the Lake Huron basin.

In late 2010, Committee chair Bill Rompkey of Newfoundland and Labrador said the sell-off defeats the purpose of the act and called for the nomination process to be extended.

[31] In other words, according to the Chronicle Herald, the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act "seeks to divest the structures to new owners".

Subsequently, Marc Seguin of the non-profit group Save Our Lighthouses told Radio Canada that there were over 500 others that could be designated.

A full list of lighthouses protected to date is published (and updated as required) on the Parks Canada web site.