I am commenting on Bill 5,…

I am commenting on Bill 5, Schedule 7, as a heritage professional currently working in Ontario who has dedicated their professional career towards the preservation and promotion of Ontario’s unique and treasured cultural heritage.
I disagree at my very core with the notion that archaeology and other areas of study which are potentially exempted from Provincial priority projects are little more than “red tape” to be cut through. If the goal of this legislation is to “unock” the potential of Ontario’s economy, I am absolutely baffled that this could in any way be undertaken by the approach of dismissing entire industries and fields of study staffed by Ontarians.
Archaeology is a tangible way to preserve and honour the cultural memory of this land which has witnessed thousands of years of occupation. An archaeological site is a non-renewable resource. If it is not documented, it is lost forever. I dread to think of the knowledge and history that will be lost if provincial projects are exempted from archaeological requirements. Instead, I urge you to prioritize instead ways to make the Province’s own regulatory body more efficient, rather than enabling Bill 5 to literally steamroller over millennia of our shared Indigenous and settler heritage.
In 2025, all of us in Ontario are, however unwillingly, part of a cultural moment where the shared, fundamental qualities that differentiate us from our neighbours to the south are more evident, vital, and in need of preserving than they have ever been. This legislation is arising from a socio-political context in Canada wherein people are connecting strongly with their identities as Canadians and Ontarians, drawing strength and fellowship from their shared ties. This is not the time to be disregarding the vital role the preservation and documentation of archaeological sites plays in building our shared identity.