Summary of Issue
Things to Consider
Cultural heritage refers to built heritage resources, cultural heritage landscapes and archaeological resources, which often occur together on a site. The MECP document Management of Excess Soil – A Guide for Best Management Practices (BMP) encourages municipalities to refer to outside tools that may provide additional information and policy on cultural heritage and archaeological sites including: “The Provincial Policy Statement and Provincial Plans, such as the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan, Greenbelt Plan and Source Water Protection Plans” [1].
The BMP also recommends retaining a qualified person to assess the conditions of the receiving site, which includes identifying and protecting cultural heritage resources. The Ontario Heritage Act requires additional review and approval for alteration of properties of cultural heritage value or interest and is an informative resource for municipalities developing site alteration and fill by-laws, as well as site owners/operators wishing to alter a property.
Resources for Indigenous Relations Best Practices
Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO), in partnership with AMCTO, hosted 2 free webinar on September 20, 2018 and November 28, 2018 for municipal officials and staff on “Indigenous People in Ontario.” The webinars provide municipal representatives with an introductory overview of Ontario’s Indigenous people and issues affecting municipal-Indigenous relations on the ground.
Municipal - Indigenous Relations in Ontario 101 and 201 Webinars | AMO
The 101 webinar on September 20, 2018 includes information on:
Indigenous People in Ontario
Traditional and Treaty Territories
Land Claims
Key Indigenous Organizations
Provincial/Federal/Other Resources
Tips for Advancing Municipal-Indigenous Relations
Resources: The Ontario Heritage Act
The Ontario Heritage Act provides municipalities the authority to preserve cultural heritage areas within their district through specific requirements and prohibitions.
Under the Ontario Heritage Act, The Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties were issued. These guidelines outline how to identify and evaluate the cultural heritage value of properties according to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport (MTCS).
By-law Sections
General Prohibitions and Regulations
Things to Consider
Any site shown to have cultural heritage value or interest must comply with the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). The OHA forbids the alteration of cultural heritage resources without appropriate approval, where “alter” means to change in any manner and includes to restore, renovate, repair or disturb and “alteration” has a corresponding meaning. [2]
In accordance with the OHA, a site alteration or fill by-law may include the following prohibitions:
“5.8 No person shall permit or cause to be permitted any Site Alteration activities that will result in:
[…]
5.8.10 An adverse effect to archeological or historically significant features.
[…]
5.9 No permit shall be issued for proposed Site Alteration that will result in:
[…]
5.9.10 An adverse effect to archeological or historically significant features.” [3]
Permit Issuance
Things to Consider
Site alteration and fill by-laws may also specifically require site owners/operators to ensure compliance with the OHA for permit issuance, which includes first determining if a property or project contains cultural heritage resources, such as areas of archaeological potential. The MTCS has developed checklists of criteria for determining the archaeological and built heritage potential of a site.
Resources
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport provide two checklists that can be used to determine if a property or project area may contain archaeological resources (i.e. have archaeological potential), is a recognized heritage property and/or may be of cultural heritage. The documents are:
Municipalities may also have archeological management plans and/or heritage site inventories which can be referenced in site alteration or fill by-laws as a requirement to be consulted prior to any site alteration operations.
Sample by-law language requiring permit applicants to comply with the OHA is as follows:
Sample Language
“A permit shall be issued where the Director is satisfied:
[…]
(g) that the work proposed under the permit does not involve contravention of […] the Ontario Heritage Act, R. S. 0. c. 0.18 […] and where such acts or by-laws require approval such approval is obtained and proof submitted or will be obtained and submitted before the work under the permit is carried out.” [4]
Municipalities may also specify the requirement of an archaeological assessment for sites deemed to have archaeological potential, as is done in the example below:
“To obtain a permit pursuant to this By-law, an applicant shall provide the following information: […]
3.1.7 Confirmation that the appropriate archaeological assessments on Sites deemed to have moderate to high potentials for the discovery of archaeological resources have been completed to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Culture;” [5]
Municipalities should consider modifying the above provision to include required assessments for a site with any potential. The Ministry of Culture title should also be updated to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS).
Penalty
Things to Consider
Municipalities may choose to inform site owners/operators that the OHA establishes significant penalties and restoration costs on convictions for offences.
References
[1] Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks. Management of Excess Soil – A Guide for Best Management Practices (https://www.ontario.ca/page/management-excess-soil-guide-best-management-practices)
[2] The Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o18)
[3] Barrie By-law 2014-100 (http://www.barrie.ca/City%20Hall/By-laws/By-lawDocs/By-law%202014-100%20Bill%20106.pdf) Disclaimer: “The following consolidation is an electronic reproduction made available for information only. It is not an official version of the By-law. The format may be different, and plans, pictures, other graphics or text may be missing or altered. The City of Barrie does not warrant the accuracy of this electronic version. This consolidation cannot be distributed or used for commercial purposes. It may be used for other purposes, only if this disclaimer is repeated as well as the notice of copyright. Official versions of all By-laws can be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office by calling (705) 739-4204.”
[4] City of Hamilton By-law 03-126 (http://www2.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/29FFED80-0DE6-4A06-AE6C-6DBD7D54096D/0/03126SiteAlterationAsAmended.pdf)
[5] Barrie By-law 2014-100 (http://www.barrie.ca/City%20Hall/By-laws/By-lawDocs/By-law%202014-100%20Bill%20106.pdf) Disclaimer: “The following consolidation is an electronic reproduction made available for information only. It is not an official version of the By-law. The format may be different, and plans, pictures, other graphics or text may be missing or altered. The City of Barrie does not warrant the accuracy of this electronic version. This consolidation cannot be distributed or used for commercial purposes. It may be used for other purposes, only if this disclaimer is repeated as well as the notice of copyright. Official versions of all By-laws can be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office by calling (705) 739-4204.”