Underwater cultural heritage law and policy in Ontario: History and prospects for reform

Ontario underwater cultural heritage is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act administered by the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport. Since the 2005 Ontario Heritage Act amendments, which added marine archaeology to the act’s protection regime, the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport has not updated or improved Ontario UCH policy. Due to the lack of improvement, and to the escalating interest in underwater cultural heritage by many groups, this thesis assessed Ontario’s current marine-heritage legislation. The analysis identifies ten main concerns with the province’s heritage policy. The thesis uses established underwater cultural heritage policy from Australia, South Carolina, the UK, and the international standard of the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Underwater Cultural Heritage to identify and present recommendations for policy reforms to mitigate the ten main concerns.