The Act sets out the International Boundary Commission’s powers, defines key terms, restricts works near the boundary, and creates offences for contravention or obstruction.
An Act respecting the International Boundary Commission Short title This Act may be cited as the International Boundary Commission Act. Definitions In this Act, boundary means the international boundary between Canada and the United States as determined and marked by the Commission; (frontière) boundary monument means a buoy, post, tablet, cairn or other object or structure placed, erected or maintained by the Commission to mark the boundary and includes a reference monument, triangulation station or other marker or structure placed, erected or maintained by the Commission to assist in determining the boundary; (borne frontière) Commission means the International Boundary Commission established pursuant to the treaty of 1908; (Commission) Surveyor General has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Canada Lands Surveys Act; (arpenteur général) treaty of 1908 means the treaty between His Majesty King Edward VII and the United States respecting the demarcation of the international boundary between the United States and Canada signed at Washington on April 11, 1908; (traité de 1908) work means any ditch, earthwork, building or structure of any description or any lines of telephone, telegraph or power, including posts, piers or abutments for sustaining or protecting the wires or cables of those lines. (ouvrage) Commission’s powers For the purpose of maintaining an effective boundary line between Canada and the United States, the Commission and its members, officers, employees and agents may at any time enter on and pass over the land of any person in order to gain access to the boundary or to survey the boundary; erect and maintain boundary monuments on the land of any person; and clear from the land of any person such trees and underbrush as the Commission deems necessary to maintain a vista ten feet in width from the boundary. Removal of unauthorized works Any work or any addition to a work that is, after July 6, 1960, constructed or placed within ten feet of the boundary without the permission of the Commission may be removed and destroyed by the Commission or its members, officers, employees or agents, and the materials contained in the work or addition may be sold, given away or otherwise disposed of. Costs recoverable The costs of and incidental to any removal, destruction or disposition of a work or addition pursuant to subsection (1), after deducting therefrom any sum that may be realized by the sale or other disposition, are recoverable with costs by Her Majesty from the owner as a debt due to Her Majesty. Definition of “owner” In this section, owner includes the person authorizing or otherwise responsible for the construction or placement of any work or any addition to a work referred to in subsection (1), and the actual or reputed owner or person in possession or claiming ownership thereof for the time being, and all or any of those persons jointly and severally. Construction of works Except with the permission of the Commission, no person shall construct or place within ten feet of the boundary any work or any addition to a work; or enlarge any work that was on July 6, 1960 within ten feet of the boundary. Defacement of boundary monuments pull down, deface, alter or remove a boundary monument erected or maintained by the Commission; or have a boundary monument or any portion thereof in his possession or custody. Obstruction of Commission No person shall obstruct or hinder a member of the Commission or an officer, employee or agent of the Commission in the carrying out of his duties or functions under this Act. Contravention of Act Every person who, or whose employee or agent, has contravened any provision of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both. Canadian Commissioner The Surveyor General is the Canadian member of the Commission. Claims in liability against Canadian Commissioner For the purposes of section 3 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, the Canadian member of the Commission while acting within the scope of that member’s duties or employment is deemed to be a servant of the Crown. Binding on Her Majesty This Act is binding on Her Majesty.