These comments relate to…

These comments relate to proposed updates to the Ontario Heritage Act in Bill 5, Schedule 7, and specifically to new section 66.1 and the proposed power to exempt selected properties from the requirement to conduct archaeological assessments.

Exempting properties from archaeological assessment requirements would have the potential to significantly impact Indigenous peoples’ understanding of their history and culture. In Ontario, Indigenous occupation extends back at least 13,000 years but written histories in the province only cover the past 400 of these; and much of this was written by European settlers who did not have a clear understanding or appreciation of Indigenous traditions and society. Requiring archaeological assessments as part of infrastructure development projects means we can conserve thousands of years of Indigenous culture, allowing all Ontarians the opportunity to understand and appreciate the vital contributions made by the original inhabitants of the province. Exempting even selected properties from archaeological assessments will undoubtedly result in the destruction of sites and the inevitable erasure of history and culture.

It is laudable that section 66.1 excludes provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 from potential archaeological exemptions. However, the location of the vast majority of Indigenous burial sites are currently unknown; archaeology is, in fact, the main way these cemeteries are located. Without archaeological assessments it is impossible to locate and thus provide the required protection for these important cultural places. It will also result in an uneven and unfair application of protection to cemeteries: settler cemeteries, since they are usually of known location, will be afforded protection while the majority of Indigenous cemeteries will not. The implications of this disparity are fraught.

Bill 5 implies that archaeology is “red tape” that impedes the progress of necessary infrastructure projects. In fact, conducting archaeological assessments prior to development results in the production of important information that can potentially save enormous amounts of time and cost. It is undoubtedly better to know that a property has significant archaeological resources before a project starts (for example, a protected cemetery) than to discover it partway through the project, which can lead to delays and costly shifts in project design.

With proper project design, archaeological assessments are entirely compatible with the efficient completion of important infrastructure projects in Ontario. However, while archaeology can often be completed quite quickly, developers and property owners report that it can sometimes take substantial time for the results of archaeological assessments to be reviewed by Ministry staff. This can result in costly delays to the start of important infrastructure projects. To effectively eliminate “red tape”, we recommend assessing the Province’s internal review process rather than reducing archaeological protections.