They are no longer being bulldozed without a second thought, thankfully.

City councillors, and city staff, have a whole new respect for Brampton's roots, from the people who first settled here, the homes they built, and the lives they led, to all the significant milestones of a changing society over the decades. Its value is recognized in Brampton.

Yes, we lost some wonderful heritage resources over the years, but the city no longer allows developers to tear down buildings until a thorough review has been completed. If a building is considered historically significant, the city moves to protect it with all the weight and authority of the Ontario Heritage Act.

The number of heritage sites and buildings the city has moved to designate and protect is growing so fast these days, the Brampton Heritage Board can scarcely complete its research work fast enough.

It's a good time to be a heritage lover in Brampton these days.

So, last week's demolition of the landmark Gummed Papers building on Henderson Avenue is a shocking development that must be investigated thoroughly.

We need to find out exactly what went wrong here so this does not happen again. I know the heritage board takes these things seriously. To protect the Circa 1913 building the city used, for the first time, a provision in the Heritage Act that put a 60-day hold on a demolition permit for the site.

An analysis proved favourable of designation, so the city moved to do just that.

Publishing the intent to designate under Part IV under the Ontario Heritage Act trumps everything, and protects a building for the duration of the process in the same way actual designation would.

Yet the building is no longer standing. There is nothing left to designate. It is gone.

Finger pointing isn't always the most productive approach to a problem, but I, for one, want to know who is to blame for the pile of rubble that once was an important part of Brampton's industrial past at 12 Henderson Ave. And I know a lot of other people who feel the same way.

"The City of Brampton has taken all the steps to preserve that building and its landscape," Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell said the day after the building fell. "To discover today that there is no part of that building left standing, I am outraged."

It's good to hear the mayor's strong words. The city needs to take a hard line with this. Whatever happened needs to be uncovered, and whoever is to blame, needs to be held accountable.