FAQs

It is a planning document and tool that assists the municipality in identifying, managing, and protecting archaeological resources within the municipal limits. There are several components to the Plan. These include background information on past research and a review of prevciously identified sites within the City. There are currently more than 700 sites identified within the city of which more than 400 are indigenous in origin. There is also a review of municipal policies and procedures, and a substantial program of Indigenous Consultation. Key outcomes for the project are policies and protocols that will be built into the City’s Official Plan and detailed mapping of archaeological potential that will be available for use by City staff to identify when archaeological assessments are required. .

The AMP is foremost a tool for City staff to help clarify where archaeological resources and areas of archaeological potential exist within the City. The status of known, previously identified sites is critical for ensuring they are not destroyed through the development process. The Plan will also identify where archaeological potential exists, so that the City, developers and private property owners can understand where there is the need for an archaeological assessment as part of the municipal planning process. Additionally, this will be an informative resource for archaeological consultants and the public about the City as a whole, as well as the archaeological assessment process.

Archaeological potential is the term used when discussing the likelihood of finding an archaeological site based on the proximity of an area to physiographic and historical/cultural features.

The Ontario Heritage Act, enacted in 1975, established that archaeological resources within the Province of Ontario were a protected resource under the stewardship of the government of Ontario. In this it also established that as a protected resource only archaeologists, licenced by the province are authorized to investigate and excavate archaeological site and their artifacts. In the following years, triggers for archaeological assessments were added to legislation, such as the Planning Act through pieces such as the Provincial Policy Statement. The Policy Statement and supporting legislation and regulations make it clear that it is illegal to knowing disturb an archaeological site or to make changes to land where there is the potential for archaeological resources to exist. This is why archaeological assessment is required prior to the approval of development application. The Planning Act is the most common trigger, at the municipal level, issuing the requirement of an archaeological assessment.