Just Say NO to Archaeology : 
 

As a landowner in BC you are receiving this letter to inform you of a very real danger to your property rights. You may be aware of legislation in BC called the Heritage and Conservation act.

 

This act gives the government and local First Nations the right to stop any and all development or alteration on your land due to rumored or previously discovered archaeological findings. These findings can be extremely insignificant such as shell midden, stained soils or old animal bones. Once your property has been flagged the costs can be in the 100’s of thousands of dollars for you to fund the archaeological dig. It can also greatly effect your property value when you go to sell. Even utilities such as BC Hydro are pushing this legislation. They will bring archaeologists onto your land to do research on their right of ways or your property without your knowledge or permission. The province refuses to list properties with archaeology on land titles but yet enforces restrictive covenants on any property listed on its archaeology branch database. You could have multiple sites on your land right now and you would have no idea because governments, First Nations and utilities refuse to keep people informed. Municipalities and regional districts are also taking steps to make archaeological research a requirement to build or alter land yet expect homeowners to absorb the massive costs and delays. This blatant disregard for private property rights needs to come to an end. 

If the government and First Nations are serious about preserving artifacts they should be paying for all investigations and permitting. The current system puts all burden on the land owner and rather than making artifacts more likely to be recovered it encourages their destruction due the financial hardship they cause. If you would like to see a change to how the heritage and conservation act is enforced in British Columbia please sign our petition or contact your local MLA. 

 

Thank you,

 

Below are some links to disputes arising from this unlawful, contradictory legislation. 

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/bcs-rogue-archaeological-bureaucracy-a-threat-to-private-property-rights

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/archaeology-undrip-permits-hornby-1.6012109

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton/265750/Lawsuit-over-expropriation-

https://lightningrock.ca/

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/british-columbia/widow-loses-court-challenge-in-fight-over-heritage-status-of-property/article596584/

 

https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/bc-had-no-authority-to-make-oak-bay-homeowner-pay-for-archeological-digs-court-rules-4595649