The Reclamation Act being Chapter 203 of The Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1930 (effective February 1, 1931). 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 SHORT TITLE INTERPRETATION 2 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 / Information submitted 10 Disposal of lands purchased 11 Minister deemed resident owner PART III Drainage Work Carried Out by the Dominion Government 12 Minister of the Interior deemed a resident owner 13 Appointment of engineer 14 Cost to be borne by Dominion Government 15 Assessment of private lands 16 Disposal of lands
CHAPTER 203 An Act respecting the Reclamation of Lands SHORT TITLE Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Reclamation Act. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.1; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.1. INTERPRETATION Interpretation 2 In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression: Department 1. Department means the Department of Highways; Minister 2. Minister means the Minister of Highways; Minister of Interior 3. Minister of the Interior means the Minister of the Interior for the Dominion of 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 Dominion Government 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. 1920, c.164, s.2; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.2. PART I Small Drainage Projects Affecting vacant Crown lands 3 When application is made to the Dominion Government 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 Dominion Government itself desires to reclaim vacant Dominion land by drainage, neither the applicant nor the Dominion Government shall be required to comply with the provisions of The Private Ditches Act, but shall proceed as provided by this part of this Act: Provided that, when the Dominion Government so proceeds, the land shall when reclaimed, be disposed of in the manner prescribed by section 16. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.3; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.3.
4 c. 203 RECLAMATION OF LANDS Evidence required 4 The applicant or the Dominion Government, 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 Dominion Government 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 of the said plans. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.4; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.4. Expropriation 5 Upon approval of the plans of the proposed works as provided in section 4, the applicant or the Dominion Government, 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 Act by the minister. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.5; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, 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 Act relating thereto shall apply, so far as applicable, the Minister of the Interior taking the place of the Minister of Highways. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.6; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.6. Maintenance 7 The maintenance of any ditch or other work constructed under the provisions of this part of this Act 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. 1920, c.164, s.7; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.7. Limit of extent of works 8 The area to be reclaimed under the provisions of this part of this Act 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. 1920, c.164, s.8; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.8.
RECLAMATION OF LANDS c. 203 5 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 Dominion Government for the purchase of the said lands, and such lands may be purchased by the minister from the Dominion Government upon such terms and conditions as are approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council and by the Dominion Government. Information submitted (2) The minister, in making application to the Dominion Government, 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. 1924, c.39, s.2; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.9. Disposal of lands purchased 10 Any land so purchased by the province from the Dominion Government 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 Dominion Government and the proceeds of the sale of such lands shall be applied by the minister in such manner as are specified in such regulations, after first reimbursing the consolidated fund for the moneys expended in the purchase and drainage of the said lands. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.10; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.10. Minister deemed resident owner 11 Upon the Dominion Government agreeing to sell to 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 organised, be deemed to be qualified as a resident owner of such land under the provisions of The Drainage Act for the purpose of organising the drainage district, and the procedure shall thereafter be carried on under the said Act. 1924, c.39, s.3; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.11.
6 c. 203 RECLAMATION OF LANDS PART III Drainage Work Carried Out by the Dominion Government Minister of the Interior deemed a resident owner 12 When the Dominion Government, 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 such land under the provisions of the said Act. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.12; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.12. Appointment of engineer 13 In the event of the Dominion Government desiring to so 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 said 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 aforesaid engineer, under the direction of the Minister of the Interior, in accordance with The Drainage Act. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.13; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.13. Cost to be borne by Dominion Government 14 The whole cost of such drainage shall be borne by the Dominion Government, and no debentures shall be issued in connection with any such drainage district. R.S.S. 1920, c.164, s.14; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.14. Assessment of private lands 15 The proportion of the cost of the works assessed upon any lands other than Dominion lands comprised in any such 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. 1920, c.164, s.15; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.15. Disposal of lands 16(1) Lands so reclaimed by the Dominion Government 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 utilisation 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.
RECLAMATION OF LANDS c. 203 7 (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. 1920, c.164, s.16; R.S.S. 1930, c.203, s.16.
Regina, Saskatchewan Printed by the authority of THE QUEEN S PRINTER