The Province is presently undertaking the Heritage Conservation Act Transformation Project, aiming to update the Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) to ensure it is consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to improve the manner in which the HCA is implemented so that benefits all stakeholders.

The Province acknowledges that, for years, First Nations, local governments, and stakeholders have raised challenges with the HCA and its administration. Significant changes have not been made to the HCA since 1996.

This Project aims to update the HCA to address concerns that have been raised over time, including:

• Making permitting faster and easier, to avoid waiting for multiple permits and navigating unclear rules and processes;
• Helping people and communities rebuild quicker after disasters such as wildfires and floods;
• Protecting heritage more effectively, reducing the risk of accidental damage to sacred or other significant sites;
• Strengthening the role of First Nations in decision-making about their own heritage and ancestors, in alignment with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; and
• Increasing transparency and access to information (including making it easier to find out if there is a protected site on your property) to support planning and development decisions.

Providing Feedback and Comments to the Province

First Nations, local governments, stakeholders, and the public may submit feedback to the Province as it undertakes development of new legislation. For this purpose, the Province has created an online survey where feedback can be submitted, which survey closes at 4:00 p.m. on October 1, 2025.

Local government staff or elected officials who were unable to attend the Province’s August 15th local government officials’ webinar may instead attend a September 17th informational webinar for general stakeholders. To request remote attendance to the September 17th webinar, you can email the Ministry of Forests for the webinar attendance link at the following address: [email protected]

Past UBCM Resolutions in Relation to the HCA

In regard to the HCA, the Union of BC Municipalities’ (UBCM) membership endorsed resolutions in 2019 (2019-B52) and 2007 (2007-B139) calling on the Province to fund expenditures borne by local governments, who must record and document archaeological findings in accordance with the HCA when they uncover archaeological sites during routine excavation for infrastructure work in communities (e.g. road, sewer, and water services). In response to the 2019 resolution, the Province indicated that it does not have any funding available to support local governments with the costs of archaeological work.

UBCM members also endorsed a resolution in 2013 (2013-LR1) which asked the provincial government to amend the HCA to provide fair, balanced, and reasonable treatment of property owners impacted by unregistered or undiscovered archaeological sites on fee simple property.