I would like to express my…

I would like to express my deep concern with and opposition to the proposed exemptions for environment and archaeological assessments prior to development projects as outline in Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025. I believe first and foremost that the environmental and archaeological assessment sector within Ontario employs thousands of people. Providing avenues for economic development in the areas of transit, housing, health care, other infrastructure, and other priorities as prescribed to be exempt from these types of assessments will result in the lost of thousands of job for Ontarians. This will not improve or “unleash” our economy, but rather harm it by leaving highly trained individuals unemployed.
Additionally, the changes to the Ontario Heritage Act outlined in Schedule 7 of the proposed legislative amendments includes an amendment allowing for the exemption from archaeological requirements where it could potentially advance the specified provincial priorities. I believe the amendment proposing exemption from archaeological requirements 1) is detrimental to and contravenes our responsibilities to Truth and Reconciliation; 2) is counter to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) of which Canada is a signatory; 3) is vaguely worded in such a way as to permit all development projects to argue for exemption from archaeological requirements; and, 4) is in contradiction with the other aspects of Schedule 7’s proposed amendments which pertain to enforcement and compliance with regards to the protection of artifacts and archaeological sites.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Call to Action 43 states “We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to fully adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation. Article 11 of UNDRIP states that Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.” Furthermore, Article 31 of UNDRIP states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.”
Additionally, the TRC Call to Action 75 states “We call upon the federal government to work with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, churches, Aboriginal communities, former residential school students, and current landowners to develop and implement strategies and procedures for the ongoing identification, documentation, maintenance, commemoration, and protection of residential school cemeteries or other sites at which residential school children were buried. This is to include the provision of appropriate memorial ceremonies and commemorative markers to honour the deceased children.” And TRC Call to Action 92 states “We call upon the corporate sector in Canada to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a reconciliation framework and to apply its principles, norms, and standards to corporate policy and core operational activities involving Indigenous peoples and their lands and resources. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:
i. Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before proceeding with economic development projects.”
The Cultural Resource Management (CRM) sector in Ontario represents the majority of archaeological investigation carried out in the province. It operates in compliance with the Ontario Heritage Act, the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act and is subject to the Standards and Guidelines established by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism. These legislative Acts and standards outline our responsibilities toward as yet unidentified cultural heritage and burial grounds. They outline or encourage our responsibility to create opportunity for Indigenous engagement, participation, and protection of Indigenous cultural heritage, artifacts, and resources, as outlined in the TRC Calls to Action and UNDRIP Articles noted above. An important avenue through which Indigenous Nations and Communities are able to exercise their rights to protect their cultural heritage is facilitated through participation in CRM archaeological assessments. Exemption of archaeological requirements prior to development denies Indigenous Nations and Communities their rights to protect their cultural heritage by allowing for the potential destruction of as yet unidentified artifacts, archaeological sites, sacred grounds, and or burial grounds. The destruction of these places and pieces of culture by development projects that have been allowed to proceed without first meeting archaeological requirements is harmful to Indigenous Nations and Communities and only serves to reinforce the systemic prejudice engrained in Ontario’s bureaucratic processes. Archaeological assessment is also currently the only Ontario Ministry mandated process through which as yet unidentified burials or burial grounds are located. We have a responsibility to ensure that human remains are not disgraced or otherwise tampered with through out development projects. Personnel hired to carry out development projects are not qualified for the proper identification of human remains and burial grounds. And frankly are likely to leave their discoveries unreported as doing so would cause delays to their projects and decrease their profit margins. Archaeological assessments by licensed and qualified archaeologists play a critical role in ensuring the identification of previously unknown or undocumented human burial grounds and ensuring that people who have been interred on a property are treated with dignity and that religious or spiritual beliefs are upheld and respected prior to the progress of development projects.
Additionally, the wording of the amendment allowing for exemption of archaeological assessment is far to vague. The proposed amendment would apply to economic projects that are considered “provincial priorities” such as transit, housing, health care, other infrastructure, and other infrastructure as may be prescribed. The projects listed in the amendment form an all-encompassing list of every type of economic development project for which archaeological assessments are currently required. The structure of the current wording permits all development projects to argue for exemption from archaeological requirements. This would in effect provide carte blanche to the development sector to run roughshod over our communities’ ethical responsibilities to preserve and protect our cultural heritage and burial places which includes the tangible heritage of marginalized communities, underrepresented communities in our historical records (such as Black settlers who contributed greatly to the early history and establishment of Ontario), non-Indigenous descendant communities, and Indigenous communities alike.
Finally, I believe the proposed amendment which allows for exemption of archaeological requirements is in contradiction with the other aspects of Schedule 7’s proposed amendments that pertain to enforcement and compliance efforts to protect artifacts, archaeological sites, and archaeological collections. The proposed enforcement and compliance amendments allow the Minister to, among other things:
• Direct an inspection for the purpose of assessing whether artifacts or archaeological sites are on any land or under water;
• Direct that no person shall alter or remove an artifact or physical evidence of past human use or activity until a licensed archaeologist has completed an assessment and report;
• Establish the Minister’s authority to direct artifacts and archaeological collections to public institutions or Indigenous communities;
• Add explicit investigative powers providing the Minister the authority to appoint investigators and for those investigators to obtain search warrants for the purpose of investigating offences under the Ontario Heritage Act; and
• Authorize court orders to prevent, eliminate or ameliorate damage connected to the commission of an offence.
Exemption of archaeological requirement provides an opportunity for development projects to irreparably destroy as yet unidentified artifacts and archaeological sites or burial grounds or known sites which have not yet been formally registered with the applicable Ontario Ministries. Previously undocumented archaeological resources may be a new archaeological site and therefore subject to Section 48(1) of the Ontario Heritage Act. Providing for increased enforcement capabilities and protective measures for archaeological sites and resources in the same Bill that allows for the blatant disregard of the archaeological process and the value in identifying previously unknown cultural heritage resources or burial grounds is contradictory. It is the same as stating that our responsibilities to protect and preserve cultural heritage and burial grounds only extends to the known archaeological record or burial record. And that as yet unidentified cultural heritage or burial grounds are of no significance and can be destroyed as is convenient to allow for economic development. I believe we do considerable damage to our communities and the value we place on our heritage by allowing development to proceed without first safeguarding potential burial grounds and or cultural resources through archaeological assessment.
I strongly urge the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to defeat Bill 5, Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025. The Bill only serves to eliminate thousands of jobs within Ontario and fails to uphold our values, responsibilities, and obligations to safeguard burial grounds and the cultural heritage of Ontario.