Letter dated October 16, 2025 from Councillor C. Ramsay, President, UBCM, Re: Heritage Conservation Act Consultation
A letter from the UBCM President encouraging local governments to provide feedback on proposed revisions to the B.C. Heritage Conservation Act.
Correspondence from UBCM President regarding Heritage Conservation Act
October 16, 2025
Dear Mayor Tobias:
I am writing to encourage your local government to share feedback regarding the Province of B.C.’s proposed revisions to the Heritage Conservation Act.
The Province has provided an extension until November 14 to receive additional comments from local governments, First Nations and others on the proposed changes. UBCM is working directly with local governments and our First Nation members to prepare a report that will be submitted to the Province in advance of the deadline.
Last week, the first phase in our process commenced with a survey for senior staff in local governments and member First Nations on the 57 proposed amendments. The Province has recently updated a primer that provides background information on the proposed changes. Staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the primer in advance of starting the survey.
Thank you to local governments and member First Nations that have already completed the survey. Given the number of proposed changes to the current legislation, the survey is lengthy, and we appreciate the efforts of staff to prioritize this work.
We also recognize that staff may have questions that are left unanswered by the level of detail provided in the primer. The survey is designed to allow for the acknowledgment of those challenges, and we encourage your local government to complete a survey to the best of your availability based on the information available.
The second phase of our engagement will include two webinars on November 7 – one with UBCM member First Nation elected leadership, and another with UBCM’s general elected membership. Elected officials and senior staff are encouraged to register in advance through the links below to provide easy access the day of the webinars. These webinars will provide UBCM with an opportunity to share findings from the survey process and gather additional feedback as we prepare the final submission to the Province.
- UBCM First Nation elected leader webinar on HCA findings: November 7, 10-11:30 am
- UBCM all members elected leader webinar on HCA findings: November 7, 1-2:30 pm
UBCM members have long recognized the need for changes to the Heritage Conservation Act. This is a critical time for UBCM’s membership to provide comments on those changes, and I thank you for your attention to this opportunity to do so.
Sincerely,
Councillor Cori Ramsay UBCM President