The mushrooming fix-up business is the largest component of Canada’s largest industry, construction. In Ontario, it pumps tens of billions of dollars annually into our GDP. And one in every eight Ontario buildings was constructed before World War II.

But if it is so economically vital, Marc Denhez asks, why is it still so hard to target even the best-of-the-best for reuse, instead of a trip to the dump? How did we get into this tunnel?

Join Marc Denhez, lawyer and adjudicator with over 30 years’ experience in the law of built, natural and intangible heritage, who breaks the problem down into three clear headwinds:

– A biased tax structure (including incentives for demolition and disincentives for repair);
– Misleading branding of the fix-up / reuse option; and
– Shortages of funded training for doing good fix-up on a budget.

Marc also sets out a path that could lead us out of the tunnel. Find out how a level playing field could be restored to the industry in order to not only sustain our building assets, but capitalize on them.