WHEREAS local governments within British Columbia are required to undertake major construction projects to provide services such as roads, community sewer systems and community water systems to service properties within their jurisdictions; AND WHEREAS these works involve the excavation of lands, which may include First Nations lands, during the construction phase of such projects; AND WHEREAS the provincial Heritage Conservation Act requires that all archaeological sites and findings be recorded and documented in accordance with the legislation; AND WHEREAS the costs incurred by local governments to comply with the legislation are prohibitive: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of BC consider providing funding equal to 100 of the total expenditures borne by local governments to record and document archaeological findings in accordance with the provincial Heritage Conservation Act.
MINISTRY OF TOURISM, SPORT AND THE ARTS The Ministrys policy that the developer pays is congruent with that of other provincial heritage conservation approaches across Canada as well as other resource management processes such as environmental assessments. Ministry team members will continue to work with all proponents to find the most reasonable method to accommodate development yet protect this important resource as required by the legislation. Local governments are encouraged to integrate archaeological studies into their project environmental assessment phase and, where eligible, defray archaeological impact assessment costs through the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. The Ministry, in conjunction with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, is reviewing the Heritage Conservation Act and will be consulting with local governments as part of this initiative.