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'I would never demolish' Labatte homestead, says owner

'It may be the oldest building in Tiny Township, and maybe even Simcoe County,' says Georgian Bay Métis Council member
2022-02-01 Maison Labatte 25 janvier 2022
The Labatte House.

Crisis averted, for now.

Members of Tiny Township council heard from the community regarding the historic Labatte homestead on West Shore Drive in hopes to avert the miscommunication of a demolition during a recent committee of the whole meeting.

“Unfortunately, I believe there’s been a bit of a miscommunication regarding our intentions with our application to delist our property from the heritage registry,” said Michael Roebuck.

“We were just following the regular process to delist our property. Unfortunately, it appears it looked like our intention was to apply for some sort of demolition permit. As a result, the last few days have been extremely distressing for us," he added. 

Property owner Anne Hardcastle-Roebuck, who said she's been a Tiny Township and Thunder Beach community member for more than 65 years, spoke to the traumatic experience of the delisting.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I would never demolish this cottage,” she said. “This has been a very traumatic experience. I believe the delisting process be amended in the future if owners like myself are going to continue to participating in this listing process.”

Also expressing concern in the open deputations were Diane Kilby of Kitchener, who recited the long genealogical tree back to George Louis Labatte, the War of 1812 Métis veteran who was deeded the land for his service.

Added deputant Nadine Lalonde of the Georgian Bay Métis Council, “it may be the oldest building in Tiny Township, and maybe even Simcoe County.”

Many of the concerns raised by deputations and correspondence in the meeting had been quelled once the Roebucks asserted that there were no plans for demolition of the structure. 

Planning and development director Shawn Persaud verified that “the request did come in on the demolition or removal of the property on the municipal heritage register” which was the wording on the Ontario Heritage Act, adding that a note of estate management was included.

“Looking back at this motion and the wording in it,” admitted Persaud, “it definitely could have been crafted to accurately reflect what the intent of the owners were.”

Previously, Tiny residents had found themselves off guard when a motion to demolish the historic ‘Loup de Lafontaine’ house of Théophile Brunelle at 4 Potato Crt., caused widespread outcry for its protection, locally and nationally.

Coun. John Bryant attended the heritage advisory committee (HAC) meeting where the Labatte home was discussed, adding that there weren’t mechanisms available for the municipality to have listed properties removed in the future.

Council requested a report from staff and the HAC regarding the listing and delisting process, and that the matter of 89 West Shore Dr., return to the HAC for a recommendation that clearly defines the owner’s intent.


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Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Derek Howard covers Midland and Penetanguishene area civic issues under the Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the Government of Canada.
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