Principle

Most people who are responsible for real estate, or for projects on real estate, will agree that it is desirable to be well prepared for any and all eventualities. In the case of archaeology, that is not only good practice but, especially for large projects on land, it is the law. There is a formal obligation:

• on federal (and most provincial) project managers to plan for archaeology, and
  
  
• on all of the population to protect archaeological resources (regardless of whether they are discovered as part of a conscious research effort or by accident).