[MSN] $50,000 fine for bones used in road

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$50,000 fine for bones used in road

Developer given largest-ever penalty for violation of B.C. heritage act; 
band sees it as a matter of 'respect'
 
Richard Watts
Times Colonist

Saturday, April 21, 2007

A South Pender Island hotel development where construction workers once 
used First Nations bones in road surfacing has been fined $50,000.

The fine, levied against Bedwell Harbour Hotel Ltd. in provincial court, 
is the largest ever for a violation of the B.C. Heritage Conservation 
Act. The company pleaded guilty to disturbing a site inhabited prior to 
1846 while constructing a phase of Poet's Cove Resort and Spa four years 
ago.

Robert Morales, chief negotiator with the Native Hul-qumi'num Treaty 
Group, said he was glad to see the province prosecute the company, but 
$50,000 is a long way from the $1-million maximum.

Morales said he visited the site under construction and found crews had 
dug up ancient material, shells, bones and other fragments, and spread 
it out as a road surface. Later, the bones were identified as human.

"It comes down to having respect," he said, noting B.C. regulations 
forbid even playing games in a cemetery.

Poet's Cove Resort and Spa, a combination resort and marina, disturbed 
the ancient site between Dec. 1, 2002, and Jan. 31, 2003.

Peter Parmar, president and general manager of the company, said he

couldn't comment on what happened on the construction site, since he 
wasn't there.

But Parmar said the resort hopes to work with First Nations as 
neighbours and even, it hopes, economic partners. "The hand is open," he 
said.

John Blackman, who handled the case against Poet's Cove for the Crown, 
said the $50,000 is not technically a fine, since the money is earmarked 
for the B.C. Archeology Branch, while a fine would go straight to the 
provincial treasury.

Grant Keddie, curator of archeology at the Royal B.C. Museum, said 
Poet's Cove was the site of a long-buried village, dating back 3,000 
years, that yielded artifacts not used for 2,000 years.

Keddie said the resort's developers knew about the archeological site, 
which he likened to a precious, rare book. They even hired an 
archeologist to conduct a survey, then paid little attention to the 
information, an all-too familiar story, he said. "Even though they know 
there is a site there, they go ahead and bulldoze it."

Keddie said municipal regulations may offer the best protection for 
archeological sites, noting the Islands Trust is already working on 
bylaws to protect the hundreds of heritage sites scattered across the 
Gulf Islands.

Stan Hagen, minister of tourism, sport and the arts, which is 
responsible for the Heritage Conservation Act, said in a written 
statement he was glad to see the developers accept responsibility for 
violating the act.

http://www.canada.com/