The Town of
New Tecumseth has purchased the Banting homestead from the Ontario Historical
Society.
Read the unfolding story and see the pictures of the poorly maintained
Banting homestead below …Please scroll down
News Release Date: January 22, 2008
The Corporation of the Town of New Tecumseth
BANTING HOMESTEAD TO BE PURCHASED BY THE TOWN
NEW TECUMSETH, ON – The Town of New Tecumseth has entered into a conditional
agreement of purchase and sale with the Ontario Historical Society Foundation to purchase the
Banting Homestead for its assessed value of $600,000. The offer is conditional until June 30,
2008 on the Town being able to successfully raise an additional $500,000 through a fund raising
campaign to provide for the repair and maintenance of the buildings on the property.
“The Town recognizes the tremendous significance of the property as the birthplace of a great
Canadian who was responsible for one of the most important medical achievements of this
century”, said Mayor Mike MacEachern.
On November 12, 2007 the Town passed the “Sir Frederick Banting Homestead Designation
By-law” to designate the entire Banting Homestead as being of cultural heritage value or
interest. The Mayor noted that, “While this was a step on the path of ensuring the property
would be kept intact and not developed, the ability to move forward with the repair of the
buildings and the future control and use of the property could only be achieved with the
purchase of the land”.
While the Town will pay for the purchase price out of funds raised through the sale of other
surplus Town-owned lands, the Town’s agreement to purchase the Banting lands is conditional
on it undertaking a successful fund raising campaign by June 30, 2008 to raise $500,000 to
ensure the repair and maintenance of the buildings on the property.
“We are confident that we will be able to raise the necessary funds from the many corporate
representatives and Banting supporters who have come forward throughout this process”, said
MacEachern.
The Town will accept donations to the fundraising campaign immediately and will issue
charitable tax receipts for such donations. Cheques should be made out to the “Town of New
Tecumseth – Banting Homestead”.
For
Further Information: Mayor Mike MacEachern
(705)
435-3900 x223
Mailing Address:
P.O.
Box 910
Alliston,
Ontario
L9R
1A1
Administration Centre
10 Wellington St. E.
Alliston, Ontario
Web Address: www.town.newtecumseth.on.ca
Phone: (705) 435-6219 or (905) 729-0057
Fax: (705) 435-2873
Historic
Birthplace of Sir Frederick Banting May Be Lost
by
Dr. Peter M. Banting
Professor
Emeritus, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
About
an hour’s drive north of Toronto, Ontario is the small rural town of
Alliston. On November 14, 1891, on a
nearby 100-acre farm a baby boy named Fred was born. In 1921 Fred made a wonderful discovery -- a
discovery that since 1921 has saved the lives of more than 350 million people
worldwide. Fred discovered, isolated and
purified a hormone which he first named Isletin, then renamed Insulin.
Today
more than 300 million people have the killer disease Diabetes. Many would be dead were it not for Fred’s
life-saving discovery.
Fred
lived an exciting life. He served in the
First World War, was wounded and received the Military Cross for Bravery. His medical research was not limited to the
discovery of Insulin. It also led to the
creation of the first flight suit to prevent pilots from blacking out when
pulling many “G’s” in a dive. This was the precursor of our current astronauts’
space suits. Fred also conducted
research on cancer and germ warfare. Fred was an accomplished wood carver and
artist. He went on sketching trips with
A.Y. Jackson, one of the famous “Group of Seven” Canadian artists.
At
the beginning of the Second World War, Fred re-enlisted and was on a secret
mission to England in 1941 when his aircraft crashed in Newfoundland. The plane had been sabotaged by the
enemy. The man whose discovery continues
to save so many lives was dead in his fiftieth year.
For
his discovery of insulin, Fred won the Nobel Prize, and was knighted by the
King of England. He could have been a
rich man, but instead he sold the patent for insulin for $1 so that it could be
made affordable to diabetics who need the life-saving medicine. We owe a lot to Sir Frederick Grant Banting.
What
about his birthplace? The last person to
live and work the farm in Alliston was Fred’s nephew: Edward Banting. He was a proud relative. In his front parlor he had many mementos of
uncle Fred’s life, including some of Fred’s landscapes. Edward was visited frequently by diabetics
from all over the world. They came to
see where uncle Fred was born, to experience the ambiance, to breathe the
country air, and to walk in the same paths and fields where Fred grew up and
learned the values of hard work, and concern for humanity.
Edward
welcomed these visitors and took great pride in showing them his treasured
mementos. He determined that others like
them, and future generations too, should be able to continue visiting uncle
Fred’s birthplace, even after his own death.
Indeed, Edward hoped that some day a camp for diabetic children might be
established on the very land that nurtured the discoverer of Insulin. To this
end, Edward invited executives of the Ontario Historical Society (OHS) to his
home, and during the course of more than a dozen meetings over several years,
shared his dream with them.
In
1999 Edward died and bequeathed the 100-acre Banting Homestead to the OHS. During the past seven years, despite earning
a $15,000 annual income from renting the Banting farmland to a local potato
farmer, the OHS has not maintained the buildings on the property. The farmhouse roof developed holes and water
damage resulted. The henhouse decayed
beyond recovery. The roof of an historical unique octagonal drive shed
collapsed. Yet the OHS has rejected
offers from Banting family members to help repair and maintain the property.
More
than a year ago the Town Council began negotiations with the OHS to buy the
property and save it from destruction.
Twice when the Town thought they had an agreement, the OHS reneged. Then the Province of Ontario appointed an
individual to facilitate the negotiations.
The Town offered a million dollars to the OHS. The Town and the
provincially-appointed facilitator thought that they had reached an agreement. They drew up purchase/sale papers with a
November 22, 2006 deadline and sent it to the OHS. On November 23, the OHS sent a message that
they had accepted an offer of $2.2 million from housing developer Solmar
Development. The owner of Solmar
Development later told the press that his deal had been made with OHS five months
earlier. Clearly OHS had been
duplicitous, negotiating with the Town in bad faith.
Why
would a (formerly) respected, more than one hundred year old historical society
do such a thing? Their stated mandate is
to preserve and protect Ontario’s history.
Their past has involved fighting developers to preserve historical
sites.
Now
they are in bed with a developer whose goal is to erect a housing development
on an historic property – the place where Sir Frederick Banting was born and
grew up. The answer is: Avarice. The OHS is simply greedy.
Currently
the Town is seeking “designation as an historical property” for the Banting
Homestead. Under the Ontario Heritage
Act, designation will prevent commercial development of the land and will
require the owner to maintain the buildings properly. Both the OHS and Solmar Development have
filed objection to such designation.
As
a result of their objections, a Conservation Review Board will hold a hearing
in the near future and make recommendations.
If
you feel that the 100-acre Banting Homestead should be preserved for future
generations, and that a camp for diabetic children should be erected on the
very birthplace and childhood home of the discoverer of insulin, please feel
free to contact the Conservation Review Board.
In your letter, please indicate the town and country from which you are
writing.
Dr. Peter
Myles Banting is Emeritus Professor of Marketing, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Peter’s grandfather was Sir Frederick Banting’s
cousin. Peter is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the non-profit
Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation.
The Legacy Foundation was established as a charitable organization to
accept title to the Banting Homestead after its purchase by the Town of New
Tecumseth (where Alliston is located).
The Legacy Foundation hopes to build a camp for diabetic children on the
Banting Homestead in fulfillment of Edward Banting’s expectation.
Contact: Dr. Peter Banting,
105 Upper
Filman Road,
Ancaster,
Ontario L9G 3K9
Canada
Phone: (905)
648-5889
e-mail: peter.banting@sympatico.ca
Town snubbed in Banting sale
Historical group
takes another offer for homestead
Barrie Examiner
BY RAYMOND BOWE
Thursday, November 30, 2006
ALLISTON — The crumbling birthplace of one of Canada’s most globally
recognizable heroes will not be sold to the municipality.
The Town of New Tecumseth was informed this week by the Ontario Historical
Society that its million-dollar offer to buy the childhood home of Sir
Frederick Banting was rejected in favour of a more lucrative offer.
“My first reaction was complete shock,” Mayor Mike MacEachern said.
“We’re still trying to figure out what’s happening and what went wrong.”
Historical Society officials could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a
fax sent to the town didn’t name the purchaser nor the sale price, MacEachern
said. But yesterday, there was a sign on the property announcing that 70 acres
was for sale.
A co-founder of insulin in the treatment of diabetics, Banting won the Nobel
Prize for medicine in 1923.
The home, located east of Alliston, was bequeathed to the society in 1999 by
Banting’s nephew. In October, the town offered $1 million to the society to buy Banting’s deteriorating birthplace.
In the latest communique with the society, the town was not given an option to
counter the mystery offer, the mayor said.
Joe Matheson said his wife bought the farmhouse next door to the Banting
homestead last year. He said it’s “a travesty” the way the house has
deteriorated.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” Matheson said, adding tourists arrive at the
home on a weekly basis to snap pictures. “There will be people just standing
there with their mouths open. It should be a testament to the man, and it’s a
dump.
“If this was in the U.S., there would be a tour guide out front, full period
costumes and organized bus tours from downtown Toronto,” Matheson said. “In the
U.S., if George Washington even walked by a house, or if Walt Whitman even
stepped in a restaurant, there’s a plaque.
“So this whole thing baffles me,” he added.
The property sits on 100 acres, and, if the sale had gone through, the
municipality’s plan was to sell off 30 acres to a residential developer for $1
million. Ownership of the remaining 70 acres would have been transferred to the
Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation to create a diabetic youth camp, an
interpretive centre and a museum.
Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson, a staunch supporter of saving the homestead, said
he was “just furious” when he heard the historical society had declined the
offer, and questions why a for-sale sign would go up when the owners say
they’ve sold the property.
“It’s weird to do that — it’s misleading the people,” Wilson said, adding he
knows of at least two “generous” offers, including the town’s, to purchase the
property. “There may not have even been a third offer.”
The land is zoned agricultural, so to build homes on the property requires
official plan and zoning amendments, and severance approved. And beginning
earlier this week, town council began the process of designating the northerly
70 acres to be of cultural heritage value, “which means no one will get
anything,” Wilson said. “But it’s still a mystery what they’re trying to sell.
Over my dead body are they selling this thing.”
At Queen’s Park, Wilson has received initial support for a private member’s
bill, the Frederick Banting Homestead Preservation Act, but it requires second
and third reading. If passed, the whole Banting sale could be frozen, he said.
Meanwhile, the town made every effort to appease the society, MacEachern said,
including extending the offer deadline twice and agreeing to a provision for
more cash upfront.
“Anytime a concern came up with them, we addressed it,” MacEachern said. “The
expectation was to preserve the property and have something we could all be
proud of. I thought we were working towards that, so I can’t say it’s been an
easy road to get where we are.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Author: Janis
Ramsay, Alliston Herald
Date: Dec 06, 2006
The new owner of the Banting Homestead
property claims he didn't know the historical value of the land before he made
an offer to buy it from the Ontario Historical Society.
Benny Marotta, owner of Solmar Development
Corporation, made an offer to buy 100 acres of land just north of Alliston, for
approximately $2 million. Marotta said he found out "just a few days
ago" about New Tecumseth's plan to designate 70 of the 100 acres as
heritage land.
Over the past year, New Tecumseth was working
on a proposal to buy the property from the OHS for $1 million.
With an ongoing deal in the works, the
province even assigned a facilitator, Alan Wells, to assist in negotiations.
The town planned to sever the land and sell 30 acres to Mattamy Homes for $1
million. The remaining 70 acres would have been designated as heritage
property, and turned over to the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation, which
wanted to create a camp for diabetic youth to honour Sir Frederick Banting.
Mayor Mike MacEachern has said the town plans
to continue with its heritage designation, regardless of who owns the property.
"I did not know there were all these
implications with the town. It was purchased four or five months ago,"
said Marotta. "There seems to be all this chaos now that it's come out
that it's sold."
The land just north of Alliston is where Sir
Frederick Banting grew up. Banting co-discovered insulin and the property
includes an old home and an octogonal barn, one of a few remaining in Canada.
Marotta, who has built in Tottenham and
Beeton before, said he has no development plans for the Alliston property yet.
Solmar itself has been in business for 25 years.
Marotta has called New Tecumseth Mayor Mike
MacEachern because he wants to work with the town, but was waiting to hear back.
Marotta said he won't demolish the buildings now that he knows about their
historical significance.
Marotta said his sister died from diabetes
and he is in full support of restoring the buildings.
His original agreement with the OHS had only
four acres preserved, with development on the remaining 96.
"We discussed to leave four acres on the
property and when the property closes, I will rebate the OHS with $100,000 to
restore the buildings of their damage. I think it's good that it happens, I
want to contribute to it."
Solmar built subdivisions in Tottenham and
Beeton a decade ago, but its focus right now is on the Bellaria Residences,
twin high-rise condominiums and park plan located in Vaughan, near Canada's
Wonderland. The company itself has a head office in Concord, near the Vaughan
Mills shopping centre.
"We also have more property in Alliston,
on the west side of town. It's about 220 acres. So we want to work with the
town, we don't want to create any friction for ourselves."
Marotta said the closing date for the
property is happening very soon.
Both Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson and
Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis have slammed the OHS for selling the land to a
private owner when the town was making a bid on the land.
"I'm damn mad and I know the Banting
family is equally as upset by this complete betrayal by the McGuinty government
and the Ontario Historical Society," said Wilson. "I think that my
Private Member's Bill, the Frederick Banting Homestead Preservation Act, is
needed now more than ever and it's high time for the McGuinty government to
show whether they support Sir Frederick Banting."
Wilson said he didn't know why the Liberal
government has abandoned his bill.
Guergis said the OHS's priorities are all
wrong.
"A man's legacy is being completely
disregarded. He changed millions of people's lives around the globe. I am quite
frankly appalled at the actions of the OHS," said Guergis in a press
release.
She believes the sale was a huge mistake.
Dr. Peter Banting, whose grandfather was Sir
Frederick's cousin, said there is no other global claim to fame in Alliston and
the OHS was being "avaricious and dishonest" in its decision.
"The town was bargaining with the OHS to
make an offer in good faith. Apparently, the OHS thought it was agreeable but
out of the blue, sent a fax saying it has accepted another offer," said
Banting.
In a letter released Dec. 1, the OHS said it
has spent considerable funds on the property over the last decade, including
property maintenance, legal fees and other costs. "In this context, the
New Tecumseth offer was less remunerative than another offer received by the
OHS Foundation and also entailed a three-year deferred payment," wrote
Chris Oslund, president.
"While the municipality has now
initiated a heritage designation of some 70 acres of the property, the original
offer was silent on the matter of conservation and protection of the homestead
and its buildings, and meeting the costs involved. Indeed, this still remains
an unanswered issue of some concern to the OHS and it would be most willing to
discuss a heritage designation regarding the building precinct."
Oslund said the offer he accepted means
repair work can start in the near future. The new offer also provided for
ongoing maintenance of the buildings until it can be gifted to another
organization. "For its part, the OHS Foundation has agreed to contribute
up to a matching amount of money for the work of repairs and
conservation."
But Banting said he's not sure the Legacy
Foundation would want to look after only four acres. "You can't put a camp
on a couple of acres," he said. Part of the Legacy Foundation's plan was
to continue renting a portion of the land to a local potato farmer, to help
generate money to pay for taxes on the land. "That's not there with four
acres."
Banting said there's no need to build another
Sir Frederick museum, because it would be duplicating the one in London,
Ontario. The Banting House National Historic Site is where Banting lived and
practised medicine from 1920-21, for eight months. Several rooms in Banting
House have period furniture and accessories - the doctor's bedroom, his office
and its adjoining apothecary. Another room recreates a temporary battlefield
operating room similar to those in which Banting served during the First World
War.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Press
release
GUERGIS, SCHELLENBERGER CONDEMN
‘SHORT-SIGHTED’ DECISION
BY ONTARIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
December 4, 2006
Selling
the Sir Frederick Banting Homestead to developers
motivated by greed, say
MPs for Simcoe-Grey and Perth-Wellington
OTTAWA – The Ontario Historical Society (OHS) has done a great disservice to the province’s heritage, say Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis and Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger. The two MPs are united in their view that the recent OHS decision to sell the Sir Frederick Banting Homestead in Alliston to a developer is short-sighted and a huge mistake.
“I’m deeply offended by the arrogance and contempt shown by the OHS—an
organization that is supposedly interested in promoting and preserving
Ontario’s history,” said Mr. Schellenberger. “I believe this action is
motivated entirely by greed.” Ms. Guergis further commented: “It would seem the
Ontario Historical Society’s priorities are all wrong. A man’s legacy is being
completely disregarded. He changed millions of people's lives around the globe.
I am deeply saddened and quite frankly appalled at the actions of the OHS.”
A provincial negotiator had worked with the OHS and the Town of New
Tecumseth and the Banting Foundation for over a year and a half. In October, a
$1 million Offer to Purchase, approved by the municipality and the Banting
Foundation, was presented to the OHS. The OHS withheld its approval and instead
made a deal with Solmar Developments, a large housing developer in the Greater
Toronto Area.
The Town of New Tecumseth had planned to purchase the property and allow
the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation to operate a camp for children with
diabetes.
The OHS received the Banting homestead and its 100 acres in 1999 for $1
as part of a bequest from Edward Banting with the understanding that they would
maintain and preserve the property. Unfortunately, the OHS allowed the
homestead and the architecturally significant farm buildings to deteriorate and
fall into disrepair. The OHS claims that the new owner will provide for ongoing
maintenance of the buildings until such time as they can be “gifted to another
appropriate organization.”
“Quite frankly, I find it difficult to believe anything the OHS says,
considering they reneged on their promise to Edward Banting and they’ve thumbed
their noses at the provincial government, the local municipality and the
Banting Foundation,” said Mr. Schellenberger.
“Clearly, it’s
all about the money for the OHS—that’s a real shame,” said Mr. Schellenberger.
"Hopefully, no one else is planning to bequeath
anything of
value to the OHS.”
Contact:
Office of Gary
Schellenberger, MP
Phone: 613-992-6124
Fax: 613-998-7902
Email: schelg@parl.gc.ca
Office of
Helena Guergis, MP
Phone: 613-992-4224
Fax: 613-992-2164
Email: guergh8@parl.gc.ca
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Developer pays big bucks for Banting site
BY RAYMOND
BOWE
The Barrie
Examiner
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
ALLISTON — A Concord-based developer has purchased the aging Banting homestead
for reportedly more than twice what the town had offered.
Sources close to the sale identified the buyer as Solmar Development Corp., who
bought 96 acres of the 100-acre Banting property for about $2.2 million from
the Ontario Historical Society.
Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson confirmed both the buyer and the sale price.
The Barrie Examiner made numerous attempts yesterday to contact the developer,
but none were returned.
The company has commercial and residential developments in Barrie, Innisfil,
Bradford and Tottenham.
In the deal, the remaining four acres, including the home, will be preserved.
The childhood home of insulin co-discoverer Sir Frederick Banting, located east
of Alliston, was bequeathed to the historical society in 1999 by Banting’s
nephew, Edward. Sir Frederick Banting won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923.
In October, the Town of New Tecumseth offered $1 million to the historical
society to buy the property.
That proposal was rebuffed last Monday in favour of the more lucrative offer.
“This is a disgrace and a slap in the face to the Banting family,” Wilson said.
“It’s ironic that an association that’s there to uphold that history is selling
it from under their noses. It’s the greediest thing I’ve ever heard.”
New Tecumseth Mayor Mike MacEachern said the developers have called town hall
to set up a meeting, but a firm date has not been established.
“But they haven’t let us know what their intention (for the property) is yet,”
MacEachern said.
Had the municipality’s offer been accepted, its plan was to sell 30 acres to a
different developer for $1 million. Ownership of the remaining 70 acres
would’ve been transferred to the Sir Frederick Banting Legacy Foundation to
build a diabetic youth camp, an interpretive centre and a museum.
The controversial sale has become fodder at both the provincial and federal
levels of government.
Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis stood in the House of Commons yesterday to
highlight the “appalling” sale of the homestead, urging Ontario Premier Dalton
McGuinty and the historical society to save the site from property developers.
“It’s more than a homestead, it’s our history,” Guergis said. “I’m frankly
appalled by this decision (to sell). It saddens me that the legacy of a great
man is being disregarded.”
The society has “betrayed” Edward Banting’s bequest, she said, not only by
selling the property, but by letting the house deteriorate.
More than 100,000 signatures have been collected over the past three years from
people wanting to save the homestead, but there has been no response from
McGuinty, Wilson said.
Wilson’s private member’s bill — the Frederick Banting Homestead Preservation
Act — received unanimous support during second reading at Queen’s Park, but now
sits in limbo, waiting for the provincial Liberals to introduce it.
“It’s in their court, but I’m going to keep pushing the bill,” he said.
The land is zoned agricultural, so to build homes there requires official plan
and zoning amendments, and severance approval.
On Nov. 29, town council began the process of designating the 70 acres to be of
cultural value under the Heritage Act, which could stall any chance of
development. A 30-day appeal period follows the designation move, which freezes
any structures from being demolished.
However, the provincial Liberals could trump the town’s designation, said
Wilson, who blames Premier McGuinty for not taking action sooner to stop the
sale and future development. The local MPP said he told McGuinty six times that
he could be an “international hero with the stroke of a pen.”
Wilson is asking anyone who supports his private member’s bill to e-mail
Premier McGuinty.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Property sale a tragedy
How little regard we
have for our Canadian heroes, especially those who made our world a better
place
Dec. 11, 2006.
01:00 AM
Letter to theToronto
Star
Homestead sale called `pure greed'
Dec. 6.
As I read the above article, I was angry and
saddened about how little regard we have for our Canadian heroes, especially
the people who came before us to make our world a place where we can live happy
and healthy lives.
It is also with disblief, I note how little
regard our government has for famous Canadian people. Sir Frederick Banting
wasn't just any man; he was a man who did amazing things in his short life. He
wasn't just a war hero or a Nobel Prize winner, he was a man who spent his time
giving to the world. He gave the world his best discovery of all — for the sum
of just $1. He shouldn't be a man who is forgotten; he can't be. His discovery
is still helping people today, saving lives. Every time a child is diagnosed with
diabetes, we should thank our lucky stars for Banting. Every time an adult is
diagnosed with diabetes, we should look at that life-saving insulin and thank
the person who discovered it.
I can't believe that his home, the place where
he was born, a place where he played and dreamed, a place where he was inspired
to help people has been bought by developers.
Edward Banting (nephew of Sir Frederick Banting)
bequeathed the property to the Ontario Historical Society (OHS) with the belief
that, when he died, it would be well taken care of by an organization which
would preserve a piece of history for future generations.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. If you pass
by the homestead now, all you see is a tired, neglected, broken, sad-looking
structure. You would never believe that a man who saved millions of lives with
his discovery ever lived there. When Banting grew up and left home to go to
war, medical school, etc., he always came back to that house for tranquility
and peace, especially when things were hard for him.
I want to thank Banting for keeping one of my
closest friends alive; my husband wants to say "thank you," also, for
saving his father and brother.
The province of Ontario has to look at this as a
tragedy. However, the real tragedy in all this is that the OHS never took the
time to understand the life of Banting and his gift of generosity. It was never
about money.
Shame on you!
Carmine Vescio and Linda
Gargaro, Toronto
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
December
10, 2006
By MARK
BONOKOSKI Toronto Sun
In a
stall-balk-and-bail move that caught all the major players flatfooted, the
Ontario Historical Society’s foundation wing has punted the deteriorating
birthplace of insulin co-discoverer Sir Frederick Banting into the hands of a
higher bidder who had been sitting unseen on the sidelines.
In other words, it went for
the money.
To Banting descendant, Bob
Banting, the sale of the 40-hectare farm property near Alliston spells the
death knell of best-laid plans already on the table to honour the Canadian-born
scientist whose discovery of insulin has saved countless millions worldwide
from horrendous deaths associated with ever-increasing plague of diabetes.
“The sale came out of
nowhere,” said Banting, Frederick Banting’s grandnephew. “What we had hoped for
that property has now been all but dashed.”
The Banting farmhouse,
where Frederick Banting was born 115 years ago last month, sits on the eastern
outskirts of Alliston, southwest of Barrie, past a new housing development, and
it is unquestionably falling into ruin — although the Ontario Historical
Society Foundation (OHSF) said last week it has spent in excess of $35,000 to
repair the porch and its roof which, last month, was rotted and tarp-covered.
As written here then, and
it went unchallenged, if there is one organization responsible for the decay of
the Banting homestead, it is the Ontario Historical Society (OHS) which was
bequeathed the property in 1999 by Edward Banting, Frederick Banting’s direct
descendent, who inherited the property through the passing down of it from
father-to-son.
And it was Edward Banting’s
wish, upon his death, that the property be maintained to honour the great
Canadian inventor who was born and raised on that farm.
What he got, instead, was
his farm house collapsing, and his land being figuratively sold out from under
his grave.
Even the five-tonne
commemorative rock and historical plaque at the property’s entrance have
everything to do with Edward Banting putting it there — not the OHS.
The offer the OHSF had on
the table — the one in which it stalled in accepting, then balked and bailed —
was a provincially-facilitated deal from the town of New Tecumseth, the
amalgamated umbrella that includes Alliston, to purchase the Banting property and
its 40 hectares for the price of $1 million, and then immediately flip 12
hectares of the property to Mattamy Homes, the developer of the subdivision
that borders on the farm’s southern property line.
For those 12 hectares,
Mattamy Homes — which had plans to use the land to build the schools and park
lands originally slated for inclusion in its development to the south — would
pay the town $1 million, thereby making the sale a break-even situation for the
town.
Mattamy would then donate
$200,000 to the newly-formed Banting Legacy Foundation — which is spearheaded
by Frederick Banting’s grandnephew, Bob Banting — to begin the process of
restoring the property and eventually turn the farmhouse, and the 28 hectares
remaining, into a education centre and camp for diabetic youth.
“It’s a win-win from
everyone’s vantage point,” Bob Banting said at the time. “But we can’t get the
Ontario Historical Society to sign off.
“What’s their reluctance?”
he asked. “They’ve done nothing, yet here’s their chance to walk off with a
million.”
The answer, of course, is
now clear.
In its press release, OHSF
president Chris Oslund said his board’s decision to turn down the town of New
Tecumseth’s offer was done to best meet the objectives of “the commemoration of
the life and achievements of Sir Frederick Banting, and support the activities
and the mission of the OHS.”
Oslund also stated that the
OHSF had “expended considerable funds over the last decade in maintenance,
legal fees and other costs associated with the Banting homestead.”
That, however, is a bit of
a reach.
Edward Banting, for one,
has not been dead a decade and so the OHSF has not had the property for that
length of time, and secondly, if “considerable funds” means an outlay of
$35,000 to fix a porch, then there is a long way to go.
The place is on the verge
of collapse.
In announcing the sale that
caught the town of New Tecumseth off guard, the OHSF did not name the buyer
that pipped New Tecumseth at the post, although it is rumoured to be a land
developer based in Concord, Ont.
Nor did it announce the
price it got for the Banting property, although it is rumoured to be $2.2
million.
All the OHSF would say was
that the New Tecumseth offer was “less remunerative than another offer received
by the OHSF and also entailed a three-year deferred payment.”
Reached last week at his
home, Chris Oslund said provisions have been made with the buyer to “ensure the
heritage significance of the property in perpetuity.”
The deal, he said, has not
yet been totally signed off, but that it is considered as “good as done.”
What he would not discuss,
however, was details.
All the town of New
Tecumseth can do in the meantime, therefore, is fight for bureaucratic control
and to push for an official heritage designation on the property.
“What I am hearing is that
they plan to box the farmhouse in, and surround it with high-density housing,”
said Bob Banting. “All we can do now is fight back.”
Banting, however, does come
armed.
Late last week, Marie
Shields, Edward Banting’s sister and power-of-attorney at the time of his
death, had a document notarized indicating her brother never intended the OHS
use his bequeathal to sell off the farm for profit.
The last paragraph of that
document, however, is the one that expresses the most heartbreak.
“Today the farm which was
in good state of repair when it was turned over to the OHS lies in ruin,”
Shields writes. “It is a disgusting mess. My husband and I do not go there
anymore. We cannot stand to look at it.
“Brother Edward would be
angered by all of this because it certainly did not turn out the way he planned
it.”
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Town seeks OHS, province-wide help
New Tecumseth Free Press Online
Posted December 12, 2006
New Tecumseth council voted last night to ask the Ontario Historical
Society (OHS) and its foundation (OHSF) to support the proposed heritage
designation on 70 acres of the Banting homestead property.
It's a 'feet to the fire' resolution that includes an expression of
"extreme disappointment" in the OHS for agreeing to sell the 100 acre
property "to the highest bidder who we understand proposes to only make
available a small parcel size (four acres) surrounding the buildings for the
purposes of recognizing Sir Frederick Banting."
"The Town has attempted over many years to facilitate in good faith
the transfer of the lands to a not-for-profit organization that would ensure
that the buildings are repaired and the lands and buildings are used properly
to commemorate the importance of the Banting legacy to not only to the
community in which it is located but also to the world," according to the
motion's preamble. "The Town believes that the minimum parcel size for the
purposes of properly honouring both the intentions of Edward K Banting in
bequeathing the lands to the Ontario Historical Society and the work of Sir
Frederick Banting is 70 acres."
New Tecumseth CAO Terri Caron told councillors last night that 70 acres
was not an arbitrary number that was negotiated.
"It was the number of acres that have been discussed through the
Banting Educational Committee and the Banting Legacy Goundation, as the minimum
acreage they felt necessary in order to properly use the property for recognition
for Sir Frederick Banting's work," said Ms. Caron. "When we come
forward with our designation report to have council consider passing the bylaw,
there will be a rationale and support. There's research being done by the
historical committee staff right now to justify and support the recommendation
to designate that piece."
When the OHSF informed New Tecumseth by faxed letter on November 23 that
it was rejecting the Town's offer to purchase in favour of what turned out to
be a $2.2 million sale to Solmar Developments, one of the reasons cited other
than the it was more money, suggests the Town's offer "was silent on the
matter of conservation and protection, and the costs involved."
"This statement is completely inappropriate and disregards all of
the following facts," according to a background report by Ms. Caron.
Highlights in part include:
Additionally,
the Town staff and Mattamy "had responded positively" to requests for
more money upfront to the OHS and to reduce the amount of the mortgage and
shorten its pay down terms.
"The Town and Mattamy took every step possible to address the
concerns of the OHS in a timely manner and to provide every assurance that the
heritage integrity of the property and the upkeep and maintenance of the
buildings would occur," noted Ms. Caron's report. "To suggest
otherwise completely ignores the facts and information provided."
Last night's motion will be circulated across the province through the
Association of Municipalities of Ontario for support.
Mayor Mike MacEachern said after the meeting last night that
the intent of the motion is to draw the OHS into taking a public position
on protecting the homestead, and to reinforce the Town's resolve in seeing it
developed into the diabetes camp and education centre long planned for the
property.
"We're expecting everybody to support it because it's the right thing to do for that property. We're certainly looking forward to their (OHS) support," said mayor MacEachern. "The Town's position has always been and continues to be that it's not just about the buildings, it's about the property, and it's important to designate a significant portion of the property in order to make sure it's being used for a purpose that we feel it was bequethed to the OHS and also to recognize the important work Sir Frederick Ban