Hello, I am writing as a…

Hello,

I am writing as a career-long archaeologist in the province of Ontario, having started at the age of 17 right out of high-school. I have received an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and my Masters in Science from the University of Oxford and will be returning to UofT in the fall to begin my PhD. I currently work as a licensed archaeologist and field director.

I have found the resumption of attacks on both cultural heritage and the environment by the Ford government as abhorrent. This industry not only provides jobs, but protects and documents the traces of the past that gives a little bit of context to our lives in the province of Ontario. To erase this small part of the development process, simply as part of the argument of needing more mcmansions which few who grew up in the GTA can even afford, is absurd. These houses take up far too much space and have meagre amenities, and simply are not worth the destruction of the environment and culture. To destroy the past is to destroy thr future, and this province already has far too many lifeless suburbs no one can afford anyways. Mr Ford has been in power 8 years and yet we still have seen no positive movement towards affordability in housing, it has only gotten worse through his tenure and he is a very lucky man that most people in the Province blame the former Prime Minister for practically every problem that exists under the sun, blissfully ignorant to the extent that provincial decision-making and policy impact their lives.

Additionally, a concern that the government seems to be ignoring, is that this attempt to just completely bulldoze and erase both archaeological and environmental heritage from the province, marks a continuation of the genocide our province has perpetrated for the last 200 years. It is deplorable to suggest we return to the pre-1970s state where no effort was made to preserve or document Indigenous heritage. It is also laughable, that this government believes that Indigenous peoples living within the province, or those working in the sector as archaeologists, will go quietly if this Bill is passed.

I urge contemplation and restraint on the behalf of the Province, not just for the sake of my career and those I work with, but for the sacrosanct cultural heritage we strive to record and protect.