About the Branch

The responsibilities of the Heritage Branch include:

• Providing advice and information to the minister, local governments and others on heritage conservation legislation, policy and best practices.
• Building partnerships with other levels of government, institutions, non-profit organizations and the private sector to facilitate increased investment in heritage initiatives and build capacity for community heritage conservation.
• Collaborating with the Government of Canada, through the Parks Canada Agency, on national heritage initiatives, including British Columbia's participation in the Historic Places Initiative.
• Exercising regulatory authority under the Heritage Conservation Act regarding the protection and alteration of designated heritage sites and the management of the BC Register of Historic Places.
• Developing and monitoring long-term agreements for the management of Provincial heritage properties by local governments, non-profit organizations and private businesses.

These responsibilities flow from the general purpose statement in Section 2 of the Heritage Conservation Act, which states that "The purpose of this Act is to encourage and facilitate the protection and conservation of heritage property in British Columbia."

British Columbia Register of Historic Places

The British Columbia Register of Historic Places (BCRHP) is the official provincial list of historic places in British Columbia that have been formally recognized for their heritage value by local governments, regional governments and/or the Province, using heritage conservation powers available in the Heritage Conservation Act, Local Government Act or other legislation.

Fully-documented historic places on the BCRHP are nominated to the Canadian Register of Historic Places (CRHP) by the BC Registrar. The CRHP is a searchable, online database of recognized historic places of local, provincial, territorial and national significance. It is accessible to the public on the national Historic Places website at www.historicplaces.ca.

For more information, see the fact sheets in the Documents and Forms Library.

For information about preparing records for the BCRHP, see Preparing and Submitting Records for the BC Register of Historic Places.

The BC Register of Historic Places shares a database with archaeological records and therefore is not directly accessible to the public at this time. Information about historic places listed on the BCHRP can be obtained by contacting the BC Register team:

Susan Green, Registrar           susan.j.green@gov.bc.ca        250-356-1435

Carla Jack, Register Officer    carla.jack@gov.bc.ca             250-387-2262