Attorney-General of Quebec v. Fraser / Attorney-General of Quebec v. Adams

Attorney-General of Quebec v. Fraser / Attorney-General of Quebec v. Adams

Letters patent issued by the Crown were plain and unambiguous and could not be enlarged by pre-patent negotiations or correspondence; the River Moisie at the locus is navigable and floatable (at least with tidal assistance) so the fisheries remained Crown dependencies; therefore the Crown's informations should be maintained and the Superior Court judgment restored.

Citation
(1906) 37 SCR 577
Parties
Appellant/informant: Attorney-General of the Province of Quebec; Respondent/defendant: Kenneth Gordon Fraser and others; Respondent/defendant: Ivers Whitney Adams
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
17 October 1906
Procedural Posture
Appeal / On Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Court of King's Bench, Appeal Side, Province of Quebec
Outcome
Appeal allowed with costs; judgment of the Superior Court restored.
Legal Topics
Navigability, Floatability, Riparian Rights, Crown Lands and Letters Patent, Fishing Rights, Admissibility of Extrinsic Evidence to Vary Written Grants, Estoppel Against the Crown
Source Language
English
Property Law Fisheries Law Public Law Administrative Law Maritime Law Navigability Floatability Riparian Rights +4 more

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Parties

Attorney-General of the Province of Quebec

Appellant/informant

Kenneth Gordon Fraser and others

Respondent/defendant

Ivers Whitney Adams

Respondent/defendant

Procedural Posture

Appeal / On Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Court of King's Bench, Appeal Side, Province of Quebec

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Moisie River at the locus is navigable or floatable within the meaning of Quebec law
  2. 2 Whether letters patent issued by the Crown to riparian proprietors conveyed fishing rights and the bed of the river
  3. 3 Whether contemporaneous or prior negotiations and correspondence can be admitted to vary or enlarge unambiguous letters patent

Ratio Decidendi

Letters patent issued by the Crown were plain and unambiguous and could not be enlarged by pre-patent negotiations or correspondence; the River Moisie at the locus is navigable and floatable (at least with tidal assistance) so the fisheries remained Crown dependencies; therefore the Crown's informations should be maintained and the Superior Court judgment restored.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed with costs; judgment of the Superior Court restored.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed with costs
  • Judgment of the Superior Court declaring the River Moisie navigable and floatable at the locus and that the right of fishing in that part belongs to the Crown restored