Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.VICTORIA – You could call it the other, other land back agenda.First, there are activist court decisions that cast a shadow over private property as well as Crown land ownership in BC. Then there is the BC NDP push for “shared decision-making” or “consent agreements” via ongoing secret negotiations with selected indigenous groups claiming title over most of the province.And then there are proposed changes to the Heritage Conservation Act, which governs a heritage register of 64,000 protected sites, 90% of which are of indigenous origin. This includes things like shell middens, rock art, or strips of bark removed from cedar trees.When revealed for the first time in the fall of 2025, the suggested changes included mandatory archaeological reviews before a municipal building permit or sale of property, fines up to $1 million for projects intruding on heritage sites, and an expansion of what those archaeological studies might entail.“The objective is to provide greater protection of First Nations’ values, rather than just scientific values, and enhance clarity on the range of heritage values protected under the Act,” a government discussion paper said.It gave examples including “cultural landscapes, mortuary landscapes, intangible cultural heritage, including oral histories, place names, language, knowledge, objects and places within indigenous worldview.”.After the consultation period was extended twice, amid loud protests from local governments, miners, and the business community, the most alarming part of the original changes has been dropped. That was to protect “intangible heritage” that, according to the discussion paper, could include “songs, ceremonies, food and traditions.” Also removed, the province vowed, would be direct enforcement powers for indigenous communities and expanded “shared decision-making” under the Heritage Conservation Act.Now Premier David Eby’s government intends to move ahead with amendments this fall, and that has not been well received, to say the least.No, we will not sign non-disclosure agreements in order to see a summary of the legislation, said a suddenly formed coalition of the Union of BC Municipalities, the Association for Mineral Exploration, the Mining Association of BC, the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, and the Urban Development Institute.The organizations agreed that the non-disclosure restrictions were to prevent them from discussing the changes with their own members. Chris Gardner, the independent contractors’ president, was blunt in his assessment of the brief extension the government granted to the consultation period that ended April 26.“Within just a few days of the consultation closing, the ministry was already shopping a document that accompanies a formal request for legislation to cabinet,” Gardner wrote.“Nobody believes dozens of detailed submissions from local governments were read, synthesized, and reflected in final policy in that time frame — the decision was clearly made before consultation closed.”.This is just the latest sign that consultation is a public relations exercise before proceeding with a plan that’s already in place. Like the vast land-use project and the hastily signed treaties produced this spring, the Heritage Conservation Act plan is steeped in the measures demanded by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.There is agreement that the existing heritage conservation regime should be streamlined.“Archaeological impact assessments currently take up to a year to process,” the contractors group said in its latest submission to Forests Minister Ravi Parmar, who is nominally in charge of this effort.“The Heritage Branch is operating at or beyond capacity. The provincial budget deficit makes significant new hiring unlikely. No permit structure, however elegantly designed, can overcome a growing backlog.”We are seeing the same problem with mineral exploration permits, now that they require indigenous consultation before a mining claim can be staked. Mines, the often-stated top priority of both Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney, face a bureaucracy that can’t meet its own deadlines.Tom Fletcher has covered BC politics and business as a journalist since 1984.tomfletcherbc@gmail.comX: @tomfletcherbc
