B.C. pledges changes to heritage act to help First Nations protect historical sites

The B.C. government is looking to table a new Heritage Conservation Act that will allow First Nations to better protect culturally significant sites that could be damaged by development. 

Updating the Heritage Conservation Act has been a priority for First Nations in order to protect cultural sites, spiritual sites, artifacts and burial grounds, says Judith Sayers, co-chair of the joint working group on First Nations Heritage Conservation.

Sayers, who is also president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, said the current act is out of date — it was last updated nearly 30 years ago — and with the developments happening on First Nations territories, they have more of a role in protecting their heritage sites. 

"We need to have more mechanisms to protect sites, we need the resources to be able to protect sites," said Sayers. "First Nations laws should be applying in these cases."

Sayers said changes to the act would give First Nations a seat at the table when making decisions about projects, using the example of the Site C dam that flooded 83 kilometres between Fort St. John and Hudson's Hope. The Site C dam was also the subject of several lawsuits launched by First Nations who argued the project violated their treaty rights.  

"Approximately 335 recorded heritage sites that were just inundated with water and gone. And no matter what the First Nations said, there was no role in there," said Sayers. 

Ancestral remains moved 

Ron Tomma, a spiritual adviser for the Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw, about 55 kilometres east of Kamloops, said the current archaeological process doesn't respect cultural protocols. 

Tomma said there have been several instances where ancestral remains have been dug up during development and moved. 

"When you find human remains you're supposed to stop work immediately and back away from that site," said Tomma. 

"You're not supposed to touch it anymore, you are supposed to rebury it and move your building or whatever to a spot where you ain't gonna harm them anymore."

CBC Indigenous reached out to Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw Kúkpi7 (chief) Dianne Francois about this but did not hear back by deadline. 

There are currently 64,000 protected heritage sites in B.C., 90 per cent of which they say are "of First Nations origin," according to the province. 

Anyone developing, renovating or landscaping on private or public land needs a permit through the Heritage Conservation Act in order to build, even if there is no recorded archaeological site on the land or the site has been disturbed in the past. 

Homeowners often aren't informed that there are heritage sites on their property until they are found in the construction process, which can lead to a 120 day stop-work order, according to the B.C. government. 

Changes better for homeowners 

Ravi Parmar, the minister in charge of the Heritage Conservation Act, said he is looking at changes to the legislation so archaeological assessments are done before someone purchases a property. 

"The legislative change that we're looking at doing ensures that a real estate agent has the opportunity to do a quick assessment," said Parmar. 

Parmar said there are four main goals to the legislative changes:

• Make permitting rules and processes clearer and faster. 

• Help communities rebuild faster natural disasters like fires and floods.

• More effectively protect heritage sites to reduce the risk of accidental damage. 

• Strengthen the role of First Nations in decision-making to align with the provincial legislation on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 

"This legislation needs a lot of work," said Parmar. 

"It is not working for people. It's not working for First Nations communities. It's not working for those that are trying to build a home, those who are trying to move forward with a major project."

The government is currently holding public engagement sessions about changes to the legislation that it aims to table in spring 2026.