The Manitoba Natural Resources Transfer Act

The Manitoba Natural Resources Transfer Act, C.C.S.M. c. N30 bilingual version (HTML) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows: Agreement approved 1 The agreement set out in the Schedule hereto is hereby approved. SCHEDULE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT Made this fourteenth day of December, 1929, BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA, represented herein by the Honourable Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice, and the Honourable Charles Stewart, Minister of the Interior, OF THE FIRST PART AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF MANITOBA, represented herein by the Honourable John Bracken, Premier of Manitoba, and the Honourable Donald G. McKenzie, Minister of Mines and Natural Resources, OF THE SECOND PART. WHEREAS by section thirty of "The Manitoba Act ", being chapter three of thirty-three Victoria, it was provided that all ungranted or waste lands in the Province should be vested in the Crown and administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of the Dominion, subject to the conditions and stipulations contained in the Agreement for the surrender of Rupert's Land by the Hudson's Bay Company to Her Majesty; AND WHEREAS the boundaries of the Province as defined by " The Manitoba Act " were altered and the area included in the said Province enlarged by the statutes forty-four Victoria chapter fourteen, and two George the Fifth chapter thirty-two; AND WHEREAS by an order in council adopted upon a report from the Right Honourable W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, and approved by His Excellency the Governor-General on the first day of August, 1928, it was provided, pursuant to an agreement in that behalf entered into with representatives of the Government of the Province that the Province would be placed in a position of equality with the other provinces of Confederation with respect to the administration and control of its natural resources as from its entrance into Confederation in 1870, that a commission of three persons would be appointed to inquire into and report as to what financial readjustments should be made to effect that end and that upon agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Province upon the financial terms, following consideration of the report of the Commission, a transfer would be made by Canada to the Province of the unalienated natural resources within the boundaries of the Province subject to any trust existing in respect thereof and without prejudice to any interest other than that of the Crown in the same; AND WHEREAS a Commission, composed of the Honourable Mr. Justice W. F. A. Turgeon, the Honourable Thomas Alexander Crerar and Charles M. Bowman, Esquire, was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the financial readjustments involved in the proposed transfer, and the Commission has since reported its findings and these findings have been accepted and agreed to by the Government of Canada and the Government of the Province; AND WHEREAS it is now expedient, in order to carry out the purpose of the aforesaid order in council and to give effect to the agreement arrived at in the premises between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Province, to modify the provisions of the statutes above referred to as herein set out. NOW THEREFOR THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSETH: TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS GENERALLY 1. In order that the Province may be in the same position as the original Provinces of Confederation are in virtue of section one hundred and nine of " The British North America Act, 1867 ", the interest of the Crown in all Crown lands, mines, minerals (precious and base) and royalties derived therefrom within the Province, and all sums due or payable for such lands, mines, minerals or royalties, shall, from and after the coming into force of this agreement, and subject as therein otherwise provided, belong to the Province, subject to any trusts existing in respect thereof, and to any interest other than that of the Crown in the same, and the said lands, mines, minerals and royalties shall be administered by the Province for the purposes thereof, subject, until the Legislature of the Province otherwise provides, to the provisions of any Act of the Parliament of Canada relating to such administration; any payment received by Canada in respect of any such lands, mines, minerals or royalties before the coming into force of this agreement shall continue to belong to Canada whether paid in advance or otherwise, it being the intention that, except as herein otherwise specially provided, Canada shall not be liable to account to the Province for any payment made in respect of any of the said lands, mines, minerals or royalties before the coming into force of this agreement, and that the Province shall not be liable to account to Canada for any such payment made thereafter. 2. The Province will carry out in accordance with the terms thereof every contract to purchase or lease any Crown lands, mines or minerals and every other arrangement whereby any person has become entitled to any interest therein as against the Crown, and further agrees not to affect or alter any term of any such contract to purchase, lease or other arrangement by legislation or otherwise, except either with the consent of all the parties thereto other than Canada or in so far as any legislation may apply generally to all similar agreements relating to lands, mines or minerals in the Province or to interests therein, irrespective of who may be the parties thereto. 3. Any power or right, which, by and such contract, lease or other arrangement, or by any Act of the Parliament of Canada relating to any of the lands, mines, minerals or royalties hereby transferred, or by any regulation made under any such Act, is reserved to the Governor in Council or to the Minister of the Interior or any other officer of the Government of Canada, may be exercised by such officer of the Government of the Province as may be specified by the Legislature thereof from time to time, and until otherwise directed, may be exercised by the Minister of Mines and Natural Resources of the Province. 4. The Province will perform every obligation of Canada arising by virtue of the provisions of any statute or order in council or regulation in respect of the public lands to be administered by it hereunder to any person entitled to a grant of lands by way of subsidy for the construction of railways or otherwise or to any railway company for grants of land for right of way, road bed, stations, station grounds, workshops, buildings, yards, ballast pits, or other appurtenances. 5. The Province will further be bound by and will, with respect to any lands or interests in lands to which the Hudson's Bay Company may be entitled, carry out the terms and conditions of the Deed of Surrender from the said Company to the Crown as modified by "The Dominion Lands Act " and the Agreement dated the 23rd day of December, 1924, between His Majesty and the said Company, which said Agreement was approved by order in council dated the 19th day of December, 1924 (P. C. 2158), and in particular the Province will grant to the Company any lands in the Province which the Company may be entitled to select and may select from the lists of lands furnished to the Company by the Minister of the Interior under and pursuant to the said Agreement of the 23rd day of December, 1924, and will release and discharge the reservation in patents referred to in clause three of the said agreement, in case such release and discharge has not been made prior to the coming into force of this agreement. Nothing in this agreement, or in any agreement varying the same as hereinafter provided, shall in any way prejudice or diminish the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company or affect any right to or interest in land acquired or held by the said Company pursuant to the Deed of Surrender from it to the Crown, "The Dominion Lands Act " or the said Agreement of the 23rd day of December, 1924.