I work in consulting and…

I work in consulting and frequently deal with archaeological assessments related to oil and gas and transmission line projects. The current system in place for dealing with heritage resources in Ontario is broken. The Ministry is chronically understaffed and there is no service standard for reviewing reports; as a result, reports can take more than a full year to be reviewed. A mechanism exists to expedite the review process, and essentially all proponents are forced to go this route to receive approval in a reasonable timeframe. Reviewers are also inconsistent and request additional work from proponents even with a clear recommendation that work can proceed from the licensed archaeologist.

The proposed amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act do not address any of these issues. Instead, they exempt projects entirely from the archaeological process if they are related to the government's priority development areas (e.g., transit, housing). Compromising our cultural heritage is not a reasonable path forward and I oppose the amendments. The system is broken, so fix it - supported by the Ministry, proponents should be able to assess and mitigate impacts to heritage resources in a timely manner to allow priority development to continue without sacrificing our cultural heritage.