Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson has again brought the fight to save the Banting Homestead to the floor of the legislature at Queen’s Park.

He tabled another resolution last Tuesday asking the government to bolster its support and assist the Town of New Tecumseth with its plan to preserve the homestead, and eventually turn it into some form of education centre, such as a camp for diabetic youth.

Wilson has raised the issue several times at Queen’s Park, but this time he had the Conservation Review Board’s recommendation as ammunition.

“Persistence pays off on these issues,” Wilson said. “I’m going to keep pushing the government on this one, because they have gotten away with murder.

“Sure they put a new Heritage Act in, but they forced the taxpayers in New Tecumseth to pay for that process — with no help from the province.”

The land was willed to the Ontario Historical Society by Edward Banting nine years ago, but since then the buildings have fallen into disrepair. In November 2006, the town began a process to pass a bylaw protecting the land under the Ontario Heritage Act. A short while later, the town received word the OHS was selling the land to a developer for over $2 million.

The OHS objected to the designation, triggering a hearing held by the Conservation Review Board, an independent body which operates under the Ministry of Culture. The board recommended protecting all 100 acres of the property in October.

With the backing of the board’s recommendation, New Tecumseth council passed a bylaw protecting the property, but Wilson wants to see the province take the next step. The property is still owned by the OHS, and there is still no indication what the group is planning to do with it. Earlier plans for the town to buy the property and turn it into a camp fell through after knowledge of the sale to the developer became public.

“If you can freeze thousands of acres of farmland, with no compensation for farmers, and call it a greenbelt, then the province, with the stroke of a pen, can look after this hundred acres and transfer it to whoever they want,” Wilson said. “When the province wants to build a road or whatever, they just take the land, and give fair market value to whoever has the deed, and they can do that in this case, and they should do that.”

Wilson centred out new Barrie MPP Aileen Carroll and asked her for support when he tabled the resolution. Carroll was recently appointed as the McGuinty government’s Minister of Culture.

In the past month, Carroll has declined two requests for interviews from the Herald. A spokesperson for Carroll, Alicia Johnston, said the minister’s stance has not changed since Wilson issued an open letter to her Nov. 6. At that time, ministry spokesperson Guy Lepage said by creating the Heritage Act, the provincial government has done its job by giving the municipality the tools to protect the homestead.

“We believe that the best solution is a local solution. It’s not for us to come riding in and start issuing orders. It’s for people to work things through, people who are close to the ground and know the situation,” reiterated ministry communications officer Mark Thompson Monday.

Wilson said he still has not heard a response from Carroll to his letter, and the lack of reaction from the ministry is confusing and frustrating. He said the past two ministers of culture have not challenged the Ontario Historical Society on the issue of the homestead, and he is upset that the ministry still funds the society with grant money.

“They are still giving over $240,000 a year in operating funds to the Ontario Historical Society, so in my opinion they are rewarding bad behaviour,” Wilson said. “Somebody — the only one who can do this is the provincial government — has got to convince or force the Ontario Historical Society to do the right thing, and hand over the deed to this property.”

Thompson said that just because the ministry provides the OHS with funding assistance, does not give it the right to intervene in the organization’s affairs.

“Lots of arts group receive money through our agencies and we don’t receive money through our agencies, and we don’t interfere with that.”

Wilson said he intends to re-introduce his bill once it is his turn for private members’ business in the legislature.