I find this to be a deeply…

I find this to be a deeply disturbing proposal, that would allow the door to be opened for essentially every development and building proposal to apply for exemption status, which would fundamentally underline the ability of First Nations peoples to be involved in the process of archaeological evaluation and excavation of development sites.
This amendment would let developers who are granted exemptions bulldoze through heritage sites, and almost certainly disturb and destroy material culture and burial sites of First Nations ancestors.

Canada officially endorsed United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) without reservations in 2016. The UNDRIP Act, which came into force on June 21, 2021 formalizes this commitment and requires consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples during implementation.

Article 8, Section 2b of UNDRIP states that States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources.

And Article 12 states; Indigenous peoples have the right to practise 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, de-signs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

I would argue that the proposed amendment would deprive Indigenous and First Nations peoples of access to cultural heritage resources, and the ability to revitalize their cultural traditions and customs, by destroying them through irresponsible and rushed demolition and building processes.

Furthermore, how is the exemption process to be handled? What are the criteria? Who decides? What measures are in place to prevent companies with friends in high places from securing exemptions?