The Reclamation Act being Chapter 246 of The Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1940 (effective February 1, 1941). NOTE: This consolidation is not official. Amendments have been incorporated for convenience of reference and the original statutes and regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpretation and application of the law. In order to preserve the integrity of the original statutes and regulations, errors that may have appeared are reproduced in this consolidation.
Table of Contents 1 Short title 2 Interpretation SHORT TITLE INTERPRETATION PART I Small Drainage Projects 3 Affecting vacant Crown lands 4 Evidence required 5 Expropriation 6 Compensation 7 Maintenance 8 Limit of extent of works PART II Dominion Lands Lying Within Drainage Districts 9 Purchase of Dominion lands 10 Disposal of lands purchased 11 Minister deemed resident owner PART III Drainage Work Carried Out by the Government of Canada 12 Minister of the Interior deemed a resident owner 13 Appointment of engineer 14 Cost to be borne by Government of Canada 15 Assessment of private lands 16 Disposal of lands
CHAPTER 246 An Act respecting the Reclamation of Lands SHORT TITLE Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Reclamation Act. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.1; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.1. INTERPRETATION Interpretation 2 In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression: Department 1. Department means the Department of Highways and Transportation; Minister 2. Minister means the Minister of Highways and Transportation; Minister of the Interior 3. Minister of the Interior means the Minister of the Interior for Canada, or his deputy, or some other person authorized in writing by the Minister of the Interior to act for him; Owner 4. Owner includes any person who, by any right, title or estate whatsoever, is or is entitled to be in possession of any land and the executor or administrator of an owner, the guardian of an infant owner, any person entitled to sell or convey the land, an agent of an owner under general power of attorney or under a power of attorney empowering him to deal with the land, and, as regards lands under the control of the Government of Canada the Minister of the Interior or his deputy, and, as regards roads, the municipality within which the same or part thereof is situated. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.2; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.2.
4 c. 246 RECLAMATION OF LANDS PART I Small Drainage Projects Affecting vacant Crown lands 3 When application is made to the Government of Canada by an applicant other than the Government of Saskatchewan for permission to drain small lakes or swamps in order that owners of, or entrants for, fractional quarter sections of land thereby affected may be able to reclaim the submerged or swampy portions thereof and secure patent for the full area of such quarter sections, or where such application is made in order that the land reclaimed may be purchased, or where the Government of Canada itself desires to reclaim vacant Dominion land by drainage, neither the applicant nor the Government of Canada shall be required to comply with the provisions of The Private Ditches Act, but shall proceed as provided by this Part: Provided that, when the Government of Canada so proceeds, the land shall when reclaimed, be disposed of in the manner prescribed by section 16. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.3; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.3. Evidence required 4 The applicant or the Government of Canada, as the case may be, shall produce evidence satisfactory to the minister that: (a) adequate provision has been made for the disposal of the water of such lakes and swamps, and the protection of roads and other public works; (b) agreement has been arrived at among the respective applicants for sharing the cost of the proposed drainage work and the subsequent cost of maintenance; (c) the consent of the Government of Canada has been obtained; and upon submission to the minister of the report, plans and estimate of the cost of the proposed works prepared by the engineer appointed by the Minister of the Interior, the minister may approve the said plans. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.4; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.4. Expropriation 5 Upon approval of the plans of the proposed works as provided in section 4, the applicant or the Government of Canada, as the case may be, may proceed with the work, and the Minister of the Interior may exercise all the powers respecting the expropriation of land required for right of way of the proposed ditch that are or may be exercised under The Highways and Transportation Act by the minister. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.5; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.5. Compensation 6 In settling the amount of compensation to be paid to the owners of the lands required for right of way of the ditch all the provisions of The Highways and Transportation Act relating thereto shall apply, so far as applicable, the Minister of the Interior taking the place of the Minister of Highways and Transportation. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.6; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.6.
RECLAMATION OF LANDS c. 246 5 Maintenance 7 The maintenance of any ditch or other work constructed under the provisions of this Part shall be enforced in accordance with the terms of the agreement provided for in section 4, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as are prescribed by section 34 of The Private Ditches Act, as if the said works had been constructed in accordance with the provisions of that Act. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.7; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.7. Limit of extent of works 8 The area to be reclaimed under the provisions of this Part shall in no one case exceed 1,280 acres, and the cost of the proposed works as shown by the estimate of the engineer appointed by the Minister of the Interior, shall not exceed the sum of $5,000. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.8; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.8. PART II Dominion Lands Lying Within Drainage Districts Purchase of Dominion lands 9(1) Where, in a drainage district petitioned for or established under The Drainage Act, any vacant Dominion lands are included among the lands benefited or to be benefited, the minister may make application to the Government of Canada for the purchase of the said lands and such lands may be purchased by the minister from the Government of Canada upon such terms and conditions as are approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and by the Government of Canada. Information submitted (2) The minister, in making application to the Government of Canada, shall with such application forward to the Minister of the Interior a copy of the plans and estimates of cost of the proposed works, or a copy of the plans and a statement of the actual cost of the works, and a report showing the area and character of the lands affected thereby and the proportion of the cost assessed or to be assessed against each parcel of land affected, together with a separate schedule showing the Dominion lands affected and the proportion of the cost of the work to be assessed against each parcel. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.9; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.9. Disposal of lands purchased 10 Any land so purchased by the province from the Government of Canada shall when drained be offered for sale by the minister in accordance with such conditions and regulations as are specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and approved by the Government of Canada, and the proceeds of the sale of the land shall be applied by the minister in such manner as is specified in such regulations, after first reimbursing the consolidated fund for the moneys expended in the purchase and drainage of the land. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.10; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.10.
6 c. 246 RECLAMATION OF LANDS Minister deemed resident owner 11 Upon the Government of Canada agreeing to sell to resident the province land to be reclaimed as set forth herein, the province as represented by the minister shall, where the drainage district has not already been organized, be deemed to be qualified as a resident owner of the land under the provisions of The Drainage Act for the purpose of organizing the drainage district, and the procedure shall thereafter be carried on under the said Act. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.11; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.11. PART III Drainage Work Carried Out by the Government of Canada Minister of the Interior deemed a resident owner 12 When the Government of Canada, as owner of Dominion lands requiring drainage, desires to reclaim such lands in accordance with the provisions of The Drainage Act, the said Government, as represented by the Minister of the Interior, shall be deemed to be qualified as a resident owner of the lands under the provisions of the said Act. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.12; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.12. Appointment of engineer 13 If the Government of Canada desires so to reclaim lands, all reports, plans, specifications, estimates and assessments required by The Drainage Act shall be made by an engineer appointed by the Minister of the Interior. The reports, plans, specifications, estimates and assessments shall, after having been approved by the Minister of the Interior, be submitted to the minister and, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council and the constitution by him of the drainage district, the work shall be carried out by or under the control of the said engineer, under the direction of the Minister of the Interior, in accordance with The Drainage Act. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.13; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.13. Cost to be borne by Government of Canada 14 The whole cost of such drainage shall be borne by the Government of Canada and no debentures shall be issued in connection with the drainage district. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.14; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.14.
RECLAMATION OF LANDS c. 246 7 Assessment of private lands 15 The proportion of the cost of the works assessed upon any lands other than Dominion lands comprised in the drainage district shall be collected annually in the manner provided for by The Drainage Act and forthwith remitted to the Provincial Treasurer who shall upon receipt thereof promptly remit the amount so collected to the Minister of the Interior, to be applied in reduction of the expenditure made by him in connection with the work. R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.15; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.15. Disposal of lands 16(1) Lands so reclaimed by the Government of Canada shall be offered for sale at public auction within five years after the completion of the drainage works, except as hereinafter provided, upon such conditions, if any, as to residence, cultivation or utilization as are prescribed by the Minister of the Interior and agreed to by the minister, and upon the purchasers thereof becoming responsible for the maintenance of the works in accordance with the provisions of The Drainage Act. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section the Minister of the Interior may: (a) transfer any lands so reclaimed to the Soldier Settlement Board at a valuation to be fixed by the Governor General in Council; (b) lease the whole or any part of the said lands, and also any land unsold after it had been offered for sale at public auction; or (c) dispose of any fractional portion of any quarter section of land so reclaimed under regulations to be prescribed by him: Provided that persons taking under any such transfer lease or other disposition shall be made responsible for the maintenance of the works in the same manner and to the same extent as purchasers under subsection (1). R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.16; R.S.S. 1940, c.246, s.16.
Regina, Saskatchewan Printed by the authority of THE QUEEN S PRINTER