The City of Markham takes preservation of its built form heritage seriously. So seriously that the city’s motto on its Arms of Corporation is: “Leading While Remembering”. I see it every time I exit the elevator to my Civic Centre office.

I am not one that needs reminding.

I have lived in Markham’s Thornhill Heritage Conservation District for 35 years. I have served on the city’s Heritage Committee, first as a citizen member in 2003 and now again as Ward 1 Councillor. I have chaired that committee and been a member of the local Historical Society since 1988.

Through all that, I like to think I’m a reasonable person. Others can judge. One thing is certain though, I never want to be accused of standing in the way of progress. Heritage conservation should shape change, not prevent it. I know too that we often seek to preserve what we have not so much because we love it but that we fear what will replace it. Unfortunately, those fears can be justified.

Here is a case in point.

In late April former Councillor Valerie Burke and I – together representing over 16 years of service to Thornhill – co-authored a letter to our Member of Provincial Parliament and Infrastructure Ontario with suggestions for the urgent preservation of the former Baptist Church/Ethiopian Orthodox Church located at 26 Langstaff Road East in Thornhill. The property has been owned by the Province of Ontario for 44 years. Sadly, it had been allowed to fall into serious disrepair which we feared was nearing a state that jeopardized its preservation.

It turns out we were right.

Markham’s Heritage Committee voted unanimously to designate it. The city’s Development Services Committee overwhelmingly endorsed that decision at its April 4 meeting. That decision, aided in part by a letter received overnight from Infrastructure Ontario, was shockingly reversed at Council the next day. Reversals seldom occur.

Eleven weeks passed from when our letter was sent until our MPP scheduled a meeting to discuss the issue. There was no response from Infrastructure Ontario.

Believing that with the help of IO and an imaginative developer, the building had the potential to be retained, restored, and repurposed I proposed the following:

  • That IO advertise it for relocation elsewhere in the Langstaff Gateway.
  • The salvage of any heritage attributes, including the cross, from the building if IO were to pursue demolition.

I was told that without the city designating the property as a heritage asset, these suggestions would not be pursued. Instead, former Councillor Burke and I were encouraged to approach other Langstaff landowners with our suggestions. I considered that rather peculiar advice considering ownership of the church.

Approximately one hour after my meeting with our MPP I received a letter from Infrastructure Ontario indicating the building had been demolished for reasons of safety. It is gone.

The former church, built in 1935, is…was..in what was once a bustling community called “Langstaff Corners”. The inception of Langstaff occurred in the early 1800s and it has a history with ties to the William Berczy settlers, Markham’s first.

Leading While Remembering. Perhaps a biblical reference is more apropos: “You have been weighed in the balances and are found wanting.”

Photo Note: the former church photographed on May 3 and July 17, 2023