Abstract

On March 28th, 1995, the Ontario Government passed a revised Planning Act which, among other things, consolidated and enhanced archaeological conservation provisions in the provincial land use planning process. On June 6th, 1995, the Ontario Conservative party won a majority government in the provincial election and, amongst other things, immediately proposed reforming the Planning Act. The NEW new Planning Act is currently slated to be revised and proclaimed by the summer of 1996. At the time of writing this abstract, archaeological conservation provisions are proposed for the new version of the Act, albeit addressed in a starkly reformed manner. This paper offers a personal 'tour' of the seemingly endless cycle of revising legislation, implementing policy and training users to address archaeological conservation in land use planning over the last three years; and considers the implications of the current changes in land use planning for the continued(?) conservation of archaeological heritage during a time of radically changing government priorities and realities.