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September 1, 1999
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


Minister orders archaeological assessment of Quidi Vidi

Charles Furey, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, announced today that he has ordered a Stage 1 Archaeological Impact Assessment be carried out under Section 13 of the Historic Resources Act prior to the commencement of the housing development at Quidi Vidi.

"The order for an Archaeological Impact Assessment is standard procedure" says Furey. "Government will routinely order that such an assessment be carried out prior to development in an effort to ensure that our cultural landscape and archaeological resources are not harmed or even destroyed. Another example of a recent order for an Archaeological Impact Assessment is for the St. Anthony Harbour Development announced by Premier Tobin and Minister George Baker on August 16."

The proponent for the housing development is responsible for retaining the services of a qualified archaeologist who will in turn complete the necessary investigations required for the Historic Resource Impact Assessment.

"The assessment will hopefully provide us with information on early use of that area, possibly dating back to the 1600s. If that is the case we want to ensure that any information pertaining to our rich history is carefully recorded and not lost forever through the development of this area," says Furey.

Government has been interested in the archaeological significance of this area for quite some time and has had ongoing discussions with the City of St. John's regarding the need to protect such historically significant areas. Currently, Government is completing preliminary work to determine the cost to re-build the parapets and gun deck at the Quidi Vidi Battery Provincial Historic Site. An Archaeological Assessment will also be carried out as part of this study.

Media contact: Tara Laing, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

1999 09 01 4:25 p.m.


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