FAQs

What is an Archaeology Master Plan (AMP)?
What is a Cultural Action Plan (CAP)?
When/where are the Community Open Houses?

Definitions

    Some Terminology... Defined

    Archaeological Resources

    Includes artifacts, archaeological sites, marine archaeological sites, as defined under the Ontario Heritage Act. The identification and evaluation of such resources are based upon archaeological fieldwork undertaken in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act. [PPS 2014]


    Areas of Archaeological Potential

    Means areas with the likelihood to contain archaeological resources. Methods to identify archaeological potential are established by the Province, but municipal approaches which achieve the same objectives may also be used. The Ontario Heritage Act requires archaeological potential to be confirmed through archaeological fieldwork. [PPS 2014]


    Built Heritage Resource

    Means a building, structure, monument, installation or any manufactured remnant that contributes to a property’s cultural heritage value or interest as identified by a community, including an Aboriginal community. Built heritage resources are generally located on property that has been designated under Parts IV or V of the Ontario Heritage Act, or included on local, provincial and/or federal registers. [PPS 2014]

    Cultural Heritage Landscape

    Means a defined geographical area that may have been modified by human activity and is identified as having cultural heritage value or interest by a community, including an Aboriginal community. The area may involve features such as structures, spaces, archaeological sites or natural elements that are valued together for their interrelationship, meaning or association. Examples may include, but are not limited to, heritage conservation districts designated under the Ontario Heritage Act; villages, parks, gardens, battlefields, mainstreets and neighbourhoods, cemeteries, trailways, viewsheds, natural areas and industrial complexes of heritage significance; and areas recognized by federal or international designation authorities (e.g. a National Historic Site or District designation, or a UNESCO World Heritage Site). [PPS 2014]


    Cultural Mapping

    Culture mapping is a systematic process that identifies, records, and classifies a community’s cultural resources. It describes and visualizes the cultural resources that are both tangible and intangible. The cultural mapping process and end results must include a database that links to a thematic map, or a geographic information system.


    Cultural Resources Framework

    A cultural resources framework is a consistent set of categories, developed around Statistics Canada’s Canadian Framework for Cultural Statistics. The first step is therefore the consolidation of existing data from multiple sources and coding that data, accordingly, based on a consistent set of categories of cultural resources called the Cultural Resource Framework (CRF).

    Heritage attributes

    Means the principal features or elements that contribute to a protected heritage property’s cultural heritage value or interest, and may include the property’s built or manufactured elements, as well as natural landforms, vegetation, water features, and its visual setting (including significant views or vistas to or from a protected heritage property). [PPS2014]

    Intangible Cultural Assets

    Intangible Cultural Assets are not physical but consist of the stories and traditions that contribute to defining the County’s unique identity and sense of place.

    Protected Heritage Property

    Means property designated under Parts IV, V or VI of the Ontario Heritage Act; property subject to a heritage conservation easement under Parts II or IV of the Ontario Heritage Act; property identified by the Province and prescribed public bodies as provincial heritage property under the Standards and Guidelines for Conservation of Provincial Heritage Properties; property protected under federal legislation, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [PPS 2014]


    Significant

    In regard to cultural heritage and archaeology, means resources that have been determined to have cultural heritage value or interest for the important contribution they make to our understanding of the history of a place, an event, or a people. Criteria for determining significance are recommended by the Province, but municipal approaches that achieve or exceed the same objective may also be used. While some significant resources may already be identified and inventoried by official sources, the significance of others can only be determined after evaluation. [PPS 2014]

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    What is an Archaeology Master Plan (AMP)?

    An Archaeology Master Plan consists of a database and thematic mapping layers that categorizes and displays areas of archaeological potential within the County. The AMP include a strategy to identify areas where known archaeological sites are present, areas where there is potential for archaeological resources to be present and archaeologically sensitive areas, such as the specific locations of sensitive cultural remains. An AMP is a detailed and defensible methodology that once adopted, eliminates and replaces the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport “Criteria for Evaluating Archaeological Potential: A Checklist for the Non-Specialist”.
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    What is a Cultural Action Plan (CAP)?

    A CAP collaborative community process facilitated by the County, approved by Council, that will identify and leverage the County’s cultural resources, strengthening the management of those resources, and integrating those cultural resources across all facets of County planning and decision-making.

    A CAP is part of an integrated, place-based approach to decision making that takes into account four pillars of sustainability: economic prosperity, social equity, environmental responsibility and cultural vitality.

    The CAP includes the process that we use to make the plan, and the ongoing actions that we will need to undertake to maintain and enhance cultural elements.

    Indigenous culture may include aspects that we do not understand. Therefore, A CAP facilitates a process that increases our understanding.

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    When/where are the Community Open Houses?

    Participate and Learn Anytime! 

    Live Q & A - April 2 & 3 from 5pm to 8pm

    With recent events, Bruce County is using an abundance of caution, cancelling AMP/CAP public open houses scheduled for March 26 and 27 in Wiarton, Southampton, and Walkerton.

    In lieu of these public events, Bruce County invites residents and stakeholders interested in these projects to participate and learn more about these projects using the different pages ("Places", "Ideas", "Q & A" and "Questionnaire") available on this site. Share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with and about Bruce County’s rich arts, culture, and heritage - anytime!

    And join us on April 2nd and April 3rd between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm on our "Q & A" page when we’ll be on-hand conducting a live Q & A, with staff ready to answer your question in real-time. During these events we also encourage participants to visit the "Ideas" page and Cultural Assets map and help us build these important planning tools.

    Thank you for your help!

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    The In-person Community Open Houses scheduled in May will remain as planned but may change as appropriate due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For COVID-19 information and updates please visit: https://brucecounty.on.ca/covid19.


    May 27 2020 - Community Open House - Wiarton & District Community Centre (3pm to 6:30pm)
    May 28 2020 - Community Open House - Best Western Walkerton (10:00am to 1:30pm)
    May 28 2020 - Community Open House - Southampton Town Hall (3:00pm to 6:30pm)

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