Our Mandate

The Foundation’s mandate, derived from its constitution, is to create, foster, and maintain interest in the recognition, investigation, and preservation of Ontario’s pre-historic and historic archaeological resources. The Foundation undertakes cultural resource management services including archaeological assessments, planning, and research under contractual arrangements with property owners, corporations, municipalities, and provincial and federal governments. It excavates, analyses, and interprets material from sites on behalf of the owners of the sites. The Foundation catalogues, preserves, stores, and provides curatorial services for artifact collections held in trust for the people of Ontario and disseminates factual information about archaeology in Canada with special emphasis on Ontario and its municipalities. This is accomplished through its website, public lectures and seminars, presentation and publication of professional papers, brochures, press releases, and other publications on specific projects, and by maintaining an interpretative archaeological display and a resource centre. The Foundation participates where appropriate in civic functions in Eastern Ontario designed to perpetuate remembrance of the past. The Foundation employs a professional archaeological staff headed by a licensed archaeologist. It exchanges archaeological information with other interested groups and individuals, and applies for, receives, and funds archaeological research.