The British Columbia government announced its latest iteration of proposed changes to the Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) in a Mar. 26 release, incorporating additional feedback from municipal governments.
As reported by the Globe and Mail, updates to the Act were paused in January following pushback from some municipalities who said they were not adequately consulted on the changes, and measures like intangible assets would be difficult to manage.
Premier David Eby acknowledged in January the existing legislation is not working, and has meant long delays in rebuilding the village of Lytton, which was leveled by fires during the 2021 heat dome.
“Overall, there are long standing issues with the Heritage Conservation Act,” said Katherine Gordon, resident of Gabriola Island and a professional in Indigenous relations and communications.
“It’s quite old and outdated. The legislation was created at a time when there was starting to be a greater understanding of Indigenous rights and title, but that was not yet as clearly acknowledged or understood as it is today.”
Gordon says one of the issues with the existing Act is that, while it stipulates heritage sites and objects cannot be altered or moved, it is allowable with a permit. However, the province never developed policies or guidelines outlining a threshold for desecration or damage in the course of construction.
The new changes will also prohibit the sale of cultural objects (not currently banned in B.C.), provide better certainty over how newly-discovered artifacts will be dealt with, and allow for the province, First Nations, local governments and industry groups to create a heritage management plan for designated areas, she says.
Read more at ChekNews: Province proposes new set of changes to Heritage Conservation Act