Canada's historic lighthouses are the very embodiment of our country's maritime history, "beacons of knowledge" where Canadians can learn about and appreciate the contributions of the hardy lightkeepers who tended their lights and helped lay the foundations upon which our great nation was built. Standing in their shadows, one cannot help but be transported back in time, to the era of wooden sailing ships, when they served as vital signposts on the nation's waterways, the lifeline of its commerce.

Lighthouses stand today as enduring symbols of our humble beginnings, as sombre memorials to the many lives lost and ships wrecked in the treacherous waters nearby, and as a timeless testament to the indomitable spirit of the hardy pioneers who came to seek new beginnings in a new world.

Beginning with the Sambro Island Lighthouse in 1758, more than a century before Confederation, these iconic structures were the first welcome signs of civilization that greeted the hardy, pioneering immigrants, our ancestors, who transformed this nation from remote colonial outpost to modern industrial nation with their blood, sweat and tears. One of Prime Minister Harper's own ancestors, Christopher Harper, was among those greeted by the Sambro Lighthouse back in 1774 when he arrived in Nova Scotia from England after nine arduous weeks at sea.

Given that the preservation of Canada's historic lighthouses, is, therefore, a "no-brainer," why then, would Mr. Harper enact legislation that may well sound the death knell for many of Canada's historic lighthouses?

With no offence to the reader intended, the short answer, to quote a former U.S. president, is "It's the economy, stupid!" Mr. Harper's objective in ensuring the passage of this Act has nothing whatsoever to do with preserving Canada's Heritage. Rather, it is all about projecting his image as an astute manager of the country's finances. During his five-year tenure as prime minister, Mr. Harper has made no secret of the fact that he sees himself as the best manager of the economy. And if it means selling off a little of Canada's heritage, or allowing some of it to deteriorate to the point where it has to be demolished, in order to project that image, hey, so be it.

What's that, you say? Selling off Canada's historic lighthouses? Demolishing them? How can that be? Impossible! But that is exactly what the Heritage Lighthouse "Protection" Act has in store for many of the 990 lighthouses that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans declared surplus on the very day the Act became law on May 29, 2010.

Buried within the fine print of the Act are several clauses that, taken together, ensure that the ownership and perpetual maintenance of all surplus federal lighthouses must be assumed by private individuals, non-profit groups, or other levels of government, failing which the federal government may actually demolish them, regardless of how historically significant they may be.

To say that the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act is an egregious piece of Orwellian legislation would be an understatement. A "funeral dirge" would be more accurate, for just as surely as their beacons and fog horns have guided mariners to safe harbour for more than two hundred years, the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act is sounding the death knell for many of these magnificent structures.

As Canadians head for the polls on May 2, they should ask themselves not only who will be the best keeper of the economy, but also who will be the best custodian of their heritage.

Yelda Miedema Simcoe Island