Ontario's Indigenous history…

Ontario's Indigenous history stretches back over 10,000 years, and the fact is the potential for sites and burials is always present on these lands. For too long, non-Indigenous society treated Indigenous cultural remains as unimportant and something we could ignore (literally bulldoze away) when it suited our needs.

UNDRIP, and the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action have jointly served to change that state of affairs. After centuries of injustice toward Indigenous peoples, the very least we can do is ensure their cultural heritage (sites and burials) are accounted for when we build. And that is only possible through appropriate, licensed archaeological assessment.

I do not believe that the current government is trying to act in poor faith toward Ontario's Indigenous peoples, but rather that an oversight has occurred in the haste of addressing a housing emergency. I ask that you speak to professional archaeologists and First Nations to better inform your legislation with regard to archaeological assessments and their role in identifying and protecting Indigenous cultural heritage.

Ontario has a well-experienced professional archaeological community with extensive experience in working with all manner of development projects and proponents. I promise you that we are not in the business of blocking development, but rather ensuring it can proceed in a manner that honours our duty in redressing and rebuilding our relationship with First Nations.

Please reconsider the language around exempting archaeological assessments.