Councillors struggle with church heritage designation plans
July 9, 2025 at 3:42 AM
With 175 years of service under their belt, there’s little doubt the congregation of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church has a rich and important history in Fort Erie.
But the question Fort Erie councillors wrestled with on Monday night was whether that history was contained in the people or the building. In the end, they decided it was the people.
Councillors voted against a staff recommendation to designate the Netherby Road church as a heritage site. They sided with the church’s pastor, Father Stuart MacDonald, who argued the building itself held little historical value and designation would only hamper the congregation’s efforts to survive and thrive in the future.
“The diocese is very proud of its heritage,” MacDonald said at the July 7 council-in-committee meeting, noting a special celebration the church held last month commemorating 175 years.
However, that history doesn’t carry over to the building.
“From an architectural point of view the church isn’t very noteworthy.”
The exterior of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 3718 Netherby Road. Credit: St. Joseph Church SnyderMacDonald outlined several updates over the years and an overall similarity to many nearby churches as reasons for the limited heritage value. And with a changing religious landscape, he said maintaining flexibility is more important to preserving the congregation’s history.
“The very thing that is trying to be preserved by the heritage committee is the living community,” he said. “The very thing you’re trying to preserve is therefore put in jeopardy by the historical designation itself.”
St. Joseph’s was one of two churches that was being recommended for designation on Monday.
Councillors voted to defer a decision on the potential designation of a Mennonite place of worship on Ott Road. According to a staff report, the owners were reticent about being included in a heritage registrar, and outright opposed to designation, citing concerns over potential insurance costs and a desire to keep the property as a quiet, familiar place of worship.
Mayor Wayne Redekop called it a perplexing situation that isn’t likely to be specific to Fort Erie. He said there remains a lot of misunderstanding over what designation means, but also admitted there are legitimate concerns.
One of the municipality’s strategic objectives is to preserve history on behalf of the entire community, which makes designation a sometimes tricky proposal.
“This isn’t about benefiting the owner, it’s about trying to protect and preserve some of our heritage,” he said.
Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes, who has been hesitant to approve heritage designations in the past, especially when there’s been opposition from the owners, said in this case it’s a bit of a matter of trust.
“I have no doubt that (the owners) are going to be maintaining the church for the foreseeable future and beyond,” she said.
The two churches were among several heritage related reports before councillors on Monday. They approved designation of 451 Niagara Boulevard, and approved a report recommending council not proceed with pursuit of a heritage conservation district for Snyder.
While the work on the heritage district came to nothing for Snyder, Councillor Nick Dubanow said he hopes it set the foundation for future studies into other areas that may be more suitable.
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About The Author
Luke Edwards
Luke Edwards is a longtime Niagara community journalist who has covered a variety of beats, including business, agriculture, the wine industry and politics. When not writing, there's a good chance he can be found at a baseball diamond or curling rink.
It should never make it to council if the owner is not on board. Staff need to do their respectfully due diligence before setting things in motion. Also I’m not surprised any church would be hesitant to accept an invite into the matrix. The church used to BE the government but now not only have church and state been separated, but the state has been actively attacking the church for some time. For the first time in our history they ordered the church to close during the Covid scandal and went as far to arrest pastors who did not comply. I think the heritage people need to recognize this conflict and keep their hands off the church. There is something more important than history being preserved there already. Hopefully town councilors, staff and the heritage committees have all done their research on that and attend. Preserving faith and a belief in Christ should always take precedent over a government “designation”.