I am a registered…

I am a registered archaeologist in Ontario and I think this proposed ammendment will be really negative for the province.

As it stands now, archaeological processes are largely used to discover sites and standards already exist for determining the importance of archaeological sites within the province. If these standards are changed a lot of history will go unacknowledged. A difficulty exists since you often can't know the importance of a site until after it has been excavated as well, sometimes a land survey doesn't expose the breadth of artifacts or subsoil features like evidence of longhouses you could find until you complete the excavation. Bypassing this processes would lead to significant damage to archaeological heritage.

If the province wants to prove commitment to Indigenous reconciliation this is also a poor way of committing to that goal as this would directly impact the careers of many registered native community members and limit job availability for people on reserves who rely on the industry for income. It would also directly impact the Indigenous community's connection to be able to have a say in their own past and future developments. Archaeology is a way for young Indigenous people to connect to their heritage and this would largely strip them of this right.

There could be a way to attempt to streamline the process but it would have to be done in consultation with Indigenous communities and not by putting the responsibility in the hands of politicians who have no history in the industry or stake in the heritage.