SUMMARY OF EVENTS

For a detailled "day-by-day" account of events as well as links to documents, please see the 'NITTY-GRITTY' page. Information is added nearly daily to that page. Links to additions are provided on the HOME page.

If you are interested in following the development of the story on this site, visit the Home page occasionally and click on the links to see what has been added since your last visit.

1997
Because of the shortage of priests, the Diocese of London clusters three neighbouring parishes: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes in Comber, Annonciation in Pointe-aux-Roches (also called Stoney Point), and Saint-Joachim in the village of the same name. Saint-Joachim and Pointe-aux-Roches are part of South-Western Ontario's French-Canadian community. (Note : The information provided through this link is an extract from a French-language book. We do not have the resources to translate material linked to this site but we think it best to make everything available to all visitors whether they choose the English or French version of this site.)

The use of the word "clustering" instead of "fusion" or "amalgamation" to describe the project indicates to the parishioners that the intention is not to fold the three parishes into one. Nor is it to abandon the village churches.

This is a key consideration because the buildings are the architectural centrepieces of Saint-Joachim and Pointe-aux-Roches. (See Photos page)

The situation in the mainly English-speaking village of Comber is different. The church is not the central building in the village and there are other churches in the hamlet. Also, it is of much more recent construction. The Annonciation and Saint Joachim churches also have national historical value because of their link to two hamlets that are part of a 300 year-old French-Canadian community located 1000ks from Quebec.

The communities involved see their village church as a source of collective pride, a pride demonstrated through one hundred years of efforts in keeping this architectural heart of their community in good repair. A statement by the Pastor of Annonciation upon the completion of a major restoration project in 1989 is worthy of recollection at this time when the building has been abandonned and faces possible demolition. The last sentence in his statement is particularly noteworthy in light of current events.

An equivalent feeling of pride fills the hearts of the residents of Saint-Joachim who were engaged in an ongoing program of maintenance and upgrading for their beloved church

In the decade before 1997, Saint-Joachim and Annonciation parishioners had undertaken many maintenance projects for their century-old churches : major renovations of the basements, construction of access ramps, replacement of storm windows, installation of new furnaces and air conditioning etc. Parishioners contributed hundreds of hours of volunteer time and made a considerable financial investment.

Since clustering supposedly does not threaten the churches, the Building Committee of Saint-Joachim continues to actively plan repair and maintenance projects. Early in the year it commissions an engineering firm to identify further maintenance work to be undertaken to keep their church in continued good repair.

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1999

The Diocese commissions its own study of the costs of repairing the three newly clustered churches. The architectural firm hired to do this study reports that close to $3 000 000 would be needed to make those repairs to the three churches IF the repairs are done in the manner specified by the Diocese (ie. roofs built to last 100 years). They do NOT recommend demolition of the churches and even list the advantages of repairing them.

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2000

A piece of plaster falls from the ceiling of the Saint-Joachim church, and the building is closed "temporarily" by the Diocese. This provides the Diocese the opportunity to review the necessity of keeping churches in the three villages.

Following the results of the diocesan study of the cost of repairing the three churches undertaken in 1999, a decision is made subsequent to a parish referendum that the three churches will be replaced by a new building even though this is the more expensive (much, much more expensive, it turned out) option.

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2001

A group of Saint-Joachim parishioners whose church faces certain demolition form a movement called SOS -Save-our-Sanctuary.The movement was later renamed SOS-Églises in order to better reflect its bilingual nature. They succeed in bringing the issue to public attention through the media.

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SOS founders, Adrien Sylvestre (standing)and Marcel Belisle (white hair, seated, on his right). There is a better photo of Marcel on the PHOTOS page in the group picture taken at Osgoode Hall

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Given that the Building Committee's engineering report does not agree with the diocesan study, they ask the Diocese to obtain another professional opinion for the cost of repairing their church which has always been well maintained by parishioners. They do an analysis of the Diocesan study and show how the price of the repairs could be drastically reduced if alternative strategies were used.

Parishioners from Annonciation of Pointe-aux-Roches join the movement.

A public meeting is organized by the group to determine public support for the conservation of the churches. Nearly 400 people attend. A petition is produced and a work group formed.

David Tremblay who has considerable political experience at the municipal level (former councillor, reeve and mayor)is chosen to lead the group.

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David Tremblay leads the discussion.

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Church authorities refuse to engage in a dialogue with SOS, but finally agree to organize a meeting where SOS will be given time (40 minutes) to present its case. A few days after the meeting, the Diocese informs SOS that it will not alter its plans to replace the churches. Saint-Joachim will be demolished. The fate of Annonciation remains uncertain.

The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) joins the campaign

The Windsor regional section of the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario tries to open negociations with the Diocese for the purchase of Annonciation church

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2002

The Heritage-Canada Foundation and the Commissioner of Official Languages lend their support to the campaign

SOS believes that the best hope by far for the conservation of the churches is if they continue to be used as parish facilities. This becomes the principal focus of the campaign along with the quest for their designation as heritage sites to prevent their demolition. SOS-Églises sends a delegation to a Lakeshore Council meeting and asks the Town of Lakeshore to designate a century -old Lighthouse and the two churches as heritage sites under the Ontario Heritage Act

This first meeting where the churches issue is addressed is followed by three other meetings where related issues presented by SOS-Églises are on the agenda, including the establishment of a municipal advisory committee on heritage conservation (refused) On March 12, Town Council attempts to close the SOS-Églises file by adopting a policy where only building owners could propose their designation.

In early October, the Diocese obtains a demolition permit for Saint-Joachim

SOS invites all people who want to preserve the two churches to a rally on October 6 in front of the Saint-Joachim church. Hundreds of people attend. After the customary speeches, the group form a human sign of affection around the threatened building.

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In mid October, the parish starts to prepare the church for its demolition. Pews and various other objects (statues, community kitchen appliances,etc) are removed.

Church neighbours alert members of SOS-Églises to what is happening. A small group of SOS-Églises members arrive quickly on site and march in front of the church with hastily made placards informing passing motorists of what is happening.

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In the last week of October, demolition crews arrive at the scene and the demolition begins. The large central window is removed.

SOS-Églises undertakes legal action. Its objective is to challenge Lakeshore new owners-only policy on the basis that it contravenes the Ontario Heritage Act. Ottawa lawyer Ronald Caza, of SOS-Montfort fame, is hired.

As a first step, an injunction from the Ontario Superior Court suspending the demolition permit must be obtained immediately. An emergency Ontario Superior Court hearing is held on November 1st. Conservation supporters gather in front of Saint-Joachim to await the results.

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The Court suspends the demolition permit. The news reaches the group in front of the church

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Ronald Caza and David Tremblay arrive at the church to join the celebrations

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Work crews were not ordered to stop in time to prevent the removal of the central window of the church, leaving it exposed to the elements. The judge asks the Diocese to block the opening in the wall of the church. A tarp is considered sufficient because the next hearing of the Court to hear SOS-Églises case against the Lakeshore owners-only policy is scheduled in three weeks

At a subsequent hearing of the Court, the case is referred to the Divisional Court for a later hearing, probably in the spring. SOS-Églises offers to help defray the cost of installing better protection for the church. The Diocese refuses.

A lawyer from the Office of the Official Language Commissioner participates as an intervenor in the case. Two lawyers from the Diocese act as intervenors in support of the municipality.

A fund-raising campaign to cover the costs or the legal action quickly raises 50 000$ with local donations as well as donations from across the province with the help of ACO.

SOS-Églises undertakes a campaign to convince church authorities and parishioners not to replace the two heritage churches with a new building. It must be understood that members of SOS-Églises are not opposed to the construction of another church per se. They are opposed because this construction project may lead to the loss of the architectural and heritage heart of the two communities. The continued use of the buildings by the parish is the best way of ensuring their preservation.



After Mgr Sherlock's retirement, SOS-Églises asks bishop-elect, the Rev. Fabbro, to agree to a moratoriun on the replacement project in order to allow himself the time to study the situation further and, hopefully,to meet representatives of SOS-Églises . The response is negative.


With permission from the Diocese, a respected restoration architect, Christopher Borgal, inspects the two churches. In a brief two-page report he comments on the rationale to replace them and considering it a political decision rather than a financial or architectural one. As for the longterm savings on repairs that a new buildings is supposed to bring about, he states that "There is simply no comparison- the existing buildings are of significantly better quality than that which is available today..."

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2003

Three judges of the Ontario Divisional Court hear the SOS-Eglises challenge of the owners-only-need-apply policy of the Town of Lakeshore. They determine unanimously that the Lakeshore this policy is "patently unreasonable" and order the municipality to consider SOS-Églises' propositions. Read the judgment at http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onscdc/doc/2003/2003canlii6354/2003canlii6354.html

SOS-Églises continues its campaign via rallies and community fliers in favour of keeping the two heritage buildings as parish facilities.

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2004

The heritage conservation issue has gathered enough political momentum to bring the Town of Lakeshore to hold two public consultation meetings on the topic as well as a public information seminar on heritage conservation.

SOS-Églises and ACO appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board certain municipal decisions allowing for the construction of a replacement church and disposal of the existing churches(ie rezoning the land for the replacement church and severence of the property after church demolition).

Since the Saint-Joachim church building is under immediate threat of demolition, SOS-Églises reiterates an offer made earlier to purchase it on terms advantageous to the Diocese (compared to another offer the Diocese had received for purchase of the land only). The Diocese refuses the offer insisting that the building must be demolished : only the land is for sale. However the land alone cannot be sold because SOS-Églises is appealing to the OMB a municipal decision concerning the severence of the terrain should the church be demolished.

A Lakeshore Council member, Victoria Beaulieu, initiates a project to identify potential users of the Saint-Joachim building as part of a development plan for the village of Saint-Joachim. She receives a large number of commitments and expressions of interests. Lakeshore Council does not follow-up.

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2005

The replacement church construction project progresses and reaches a point of no return. The challenge of finding a vocation for the two heritage buildings is now considerably more daunting. Should SOS-Eglises abandon the struggle? SOS-Eglises takes the position that as long as there can be hope for an alternative solution, the struggle will continue.

Under orders from the Divisional Court to consider the SOS-Églises proposal, the Town of Lakeshore hires a Toronto architectural firm to determine the heritage value of the two buildings

The firm confirms the heritage value of the two churches.
(To read the report on Saint-Joachim church, click here ; to read the report on Annonciation, click here

) Ministry of Culture minister, Madeleine Meilleur, comes to Pointe-aux-Roches to meet SOS-Églises spokespersons and lends her moral support to the movement

The architectural firm hired by the Municipality confirms the heritage value of the two churches.

The Heritage-Canada Foundation gives its 2005 Achievement Award to SOS-Églises . Officials from the agency travel to Pointe-aux-Roches to deliver the award! The Foundation also identifies the Saint-Joachim church as the most endangered heritage site in Canada

The Lakeshore situation is described in Les églises du Québec: un patrimoine à réinventer, a major publication of the Chaire de recherche du Canada en patrimoine urbain of the Université du Québec in Montréal.

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2006

SOS-Églises is one of four recipients of the Prix Roger-Bernard awarded annually by Le Regroupement des organismes sur le patrimoine franco-ontarien.

Municipal Council formally announces its intention of designating Annonciation. For Saint-Joachim, its intention is of designating only the land, the steeple and the Sacred-Heart statue (which also serves as a war memorial) in front of the church.

SOS-Églises and ACO appeal this decision re St-Joachim to the Ontario Conservation Review Board

The replacement church built on rezoned farmland near Comber is inaugurated

SOS is invited to make a presentation at an inteprovincial conference in Nova Scotia on Acadian heritage conservation. The delegates unanimously pass a motion of support which is sent to Lakeshore Council. SOS' two presentations at the Conference are published in the 'Actes du Colloque' which are distributed in heritage conservation circles at the university level in Quebec and in the Maritimes.

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2007

The Conservation Review Board holds hearings and announces its support of SOS-Églises's claim that Saint-Joachim also deserves full designation. (Click here to read the report. You need a high-speed connection. This a 6MB document.)

Hundreds of letters pour in the office of Lakeshore Council from all over the province following an alert sent out by provincial organizations. Over 350 letters are sent by members of the Regroupement des organismes du patrimoine franco-ontarien (ROPFO).

In september, Municipal Council votes in favour of full designation for both churches by a vote of 7 to 1, this in spite of the municipal administration's recommendations that they maintain their partial designation position with respect to the St-Joachim church.

On November 16, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario granted its 2007 A.K. Sculthorpe Award for Advocacy to SOS-Eglise. "for saving from demolition several significant heritage churches in Essex County of special value to the Franco-Ontarian community, and for establishing a precedent in law ensuring the municipality's right to designate without the owner's consent."

The two churches are officially designated in December 2007.

At that same meeting, Lakeshore Council rejects a Diocese requests for a demolition permit for the church of Saint-Joachim

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2008

In February 2008, the Diocese of London appeals the designation of Saint-Joachim to the Ontario Municipal Board.

In June, the OMB holds a one-day hearing. The full hearings are rescheduled for October 8. OMB hearings are to be held beginning October 8. The municipality hires the lawyer working pro-bono for SOS-Églises to assist in the defence of its decision to refuse a demolition permit for Saint-Joachim,
SOS-Eglises' pro bono lawyer is hired by Lakeshore to assist in defending its permit refusal decicion. (SOS-Eglises loses its lawyer in the process)

The Town of Lakeshore asks SOS-Eglises to pay for the cost of defending its designation decision. SOS-Eglise agrees to pay for the services of expert witnesses such as the firm that confirmed the heritage value of the churches.


The Heritage-Canada Foundation has invited SOS spokespersons to play an active role at its 2008 Annual Conference September 25-27.

A major article on SOS-Eglises appears in the summer edition of the Heritage-Canada Foundation publication which is distributed nationally.

The Diocese withdraws its appeal to the OMB and offers the church building to the Municipality or to an incorporated organisation. Town lawyers meet SOS representatives and asks if SOS wants to incorporate and receive the property. After a special meeting, SOS responds to the offer (details are confidential until negociations are completed). No response (24 September)has been received at this date. On September 22, the Mayor informs the media of the Diocese's decision and states that the Town will never accept the deed to the property.

On September 25 the Windsor Star called an SOS member and informed him that the municipality has learned that the Diocese would sell the second church, l'Annonciation, for a dollar to an acceptable incorporated organisation.

As of this date (October 13), SOS-Eglises has not received a response to its proposal.

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This is where things stand at the moment.