It's unclear why a property…

It's unclear why a property inspection (formerly an option during Stage 1 assessment) to confirm current conditions within a project area, which assists in evaluating and determining archaeological potential, has been move to a Stage 2 activity. Doing so has the potential to increase additional burden on development proponents by requiring them to conduct an additional Stage 2 assessment when this could be completed as part of a Stage 1 assessment. Further burden is then placed on Ministry staff as additional reports will require submission and review for entry into the report register.

In addition to the Comment period, will the Ministry provide licensed archaeologists an opportunity to submit questions regarding changes to the Standards in advance of implementation. Doing so may help to generate and update FAQ document for licensed archaeologists to refer to when preparing archaeological reports. In turn, this will help licensed archaeologists provide reports that meet the Ministry's expectations with fewer revision requests; thus, further reducing burden on Ministry staff. This may also help to reduce red tape associated with development timelines for proponents.