Heritage Conservation Act amendments
The Heritage Conservation Act has not been updated in over 20 years. The proposed changes will increase the effectiveness of the legislation in protecting heritage and archeological sites and objects. Under the proposed changes the ministry will have enhanced powers to refuse, amend, suspend and cancel permits, compliance and enforcement tools will be improved and people will be legally required to report discoveries of specified sites or objects with potential heritage value. A person may be required to obtain and pay for a heritage inspection or investigation prior to obtaining a permit to alter a heritage site in some circumstances. For example, if a person wants to alter a site to develop land, but there is little or no information about the site, they may be required to complete archeological studies to gather required information.