Rob Shaw: B.C. laws leave landowners alone with costly discoveries of Indigenous remains – Business in Vancouver
January 19, 2026
Kamloops case highlights how property owners can be forced to fund archaeological protection without compensation
A Kamloops landowner has learned an expensive lesson that most British Columbians don’t even know exists: if you dig on your own property and uncover Indigenous remains, you could be on the hook for six-figure costs, with no help from the government and no clear way out.
Their experience should serve as a warning to anyone who assumes private property still means what it used to in the province.
