October 2, 2025
THE JOINT WORKING GROUP ON FIRST NATIONS HERITAGE CONSERVATION IS ASKING FIRST NATIONS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND OTHERS for feedback by November 14, 2025 on proposed changes to BC’s Heritage Conservation Act.
While the working group, which includes representatives appointed by the First Nations Leadership Council and the BC government, was established in 2007 to enable a meaningful role for First Nations in heritage conservation and improve protection and conservation of First Nations burial sites, sacred sites, and heritage sites, significant changes have not been made to the legislation since 1996.
According to the project background page:
The purpose of the Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) is to encourage and enable the protection and conservation of cultural heritage in B.C. There are over 64,000 protected heritage sites in B.C. and 90 percent of these sites are of First Nations origin.
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.
First Nations continue to call for increased protection of culturally important sites and consistency with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act requires all laws in B.C. are consistent with the UN Declaration. The Declaration Act Action Plan includes Action 4.35, which commits the Province to “Work with First Nations to reform the Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) to align with the UN Declaration, including shared decision-making and the protection of First Nations cultural, spiritual, and heritage sites, and objects.”
The Province also recognizes the need to improve how the HCA is implemented in a way that benefits all people in B.C. such as making permitting faster and easier, helping people and communities rebuild quicker after disasters, increasing transparency and access to information, protecting heritage more effectively and, reducing the risk of accidental damage to sacred or other significant sites.
Practical examples “to see how proposed changes could look in real-world scenarios” are outlined here. Intended outcomes are described here. A detailed presentation is available here.
Results of Phases 1 and 2 of engagement (beginning in 2022) are summarized in reports available here.
The HCA Transformation Project Team at the BC Ministry of Forests asks for written feedback, before the extended November 14 deadline, to EngageHCA@gov.bc.ca. The team has also launched a public survey asking the general public to submit feedback at Heritage Conservation Act Survey.
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We acknowledge that the land on which we work is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.