The Saskatchewan Natural Resources Act (S.C. 1930, c. 41)

Made this 20th day of March, 1930.

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 Saskatchewan, represented herein by the Honourable James Thomas Milton Anderson, Premier and Minister of Education of the Province, and the Honourable Murdoch Alexander MacPherson, Attorney-General,

Of the second part.

Whereas by section twenty-one of the Saskatchewan Act, being chapter forty-two of the four and five Edward the Seventh, it was provided that “All Crown lands, mines and minerals and royalties incident thereto, and the interest of the Crown in the waters within the Province under the North-West Irrigation Act, 1898, shall continue to be vested in the Crown and administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of Canada, subject to the provisions of any Act of the Parliament of Canada with respect to road allowances and roads or trails in force immediately before the coming into force of this Act, which shall apply to the said Province with the substitution therein of the said Province for the North-West Territories;”

And whereas the Government of Canada desires that the Province should 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 entry into Confederation in 1905;

And whereas the Government of the Province contends that, before the Province was constituted and entered into Confederation as aforesaid, the Parliament of Canada was not competent to enact that the natural resources within the area now included within the boundaries of the Province should vest in the Crown and be administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of Canada and was not entitled to administer the said natural resources otherwise than for the benefit of the residents within the said area, and moreover that the Province is entitled to be and should be placed in a position of equality with the other Provinces of Confederation with respect to its natural resources as from the fifteenth day of July, 1870, when Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory were admitted into and became part of the Dominion of Canada:

And whereas it has been agreed between Canada and the said Province that the said section of the Saskatchewan Act should be modified and that provision should be made for the determination of the respective rights and obligations of Canada and the Province as herein set out;

Now Therefore 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 the interest of the Crown in the waters and water-powers within the Province under the Irrigation Act, being chapter sixty-one of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1906, as amended by chapter thirty eight, 7-8 Edw. VII, and chapter thirty-four, 9-10 Edw. VII, and under the Dominion Water Power Act, and all sums due or payable for such lands, mines, minerals or royalties or for interests or rights in or to the use of such waters or water-powers, 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.

  • 1930, c. 41, s. 1
  • 1938, c. 36, s. 2

• 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 any 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 Provincial Secretary 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 lands 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 of 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.

School Lands Fund and School Lands

• 6 Upon the coming into force of this agreement, Canada will transfer to the Province the money or securities constituting that portion of the school lands fund, created under sections twenty-two and twenty-three of the Act to amend and consolidate the several Acts respecting Public Lands of the Dominion, being chapter thirty-one of forty-two Victoria, and subsequent statutes, which is derived from the disposition of any school lands within the Province or within that part of the Northwest Territories now included within the boundaries thereof.

• 7 The school lands fund to be transferred to the Province as aforesaid, and such of the school lands specified in section thirty-seven of the Dominion Lands Act, being chapter one hundred and thirteen of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, as pass to the administration of the Province, under the terms hereof, shall be set aside and shall continue to be administered by the Province in accordance, mutatis mutandis, with the provisions of sections thirty-seven to forty of the Dominion Lands Act, for the support of schools organized and carried on therein in accordance with the law of the Province. School lands may be sold to veterans qualified to participate in the benefits of the Veterans Land Act, 1942, and amendments thereto, under and subject to terms and conditions to be prescribed by regulations made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Province will, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, invest money to which this paragraph applies in securities of Canada, or of a Province, or of a municipal corporation, school district or school unit in the Province of Saskatchewan, or in securities guaranteed by Canada or a Province, to form a school fund, and will apply the interest arising therefrom, after deducting the cost of management, for the support of schools organized and carried on in accordance with the law of the Province.

  • 1930, c. 41, s. 7
  • 1948, c. 69, s. 2
  • 1951, c. 60, s. 2

Water

• 8 Canada agrees that the provision contained in section four of the Dominion Water Power Act, being chapter two hundred and ten of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, that every undertaking under the said Act is declared to be a work for the general advantage of Canada, shall stand repealed as from the date of the coming into force of this agreement in so far as the same applies to undertakings within the Province; nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to affect the legislative competence of the Parliament of Canada to make hereafter any declaration under the tenth head of section ninety-two of the British North America Act, 1867.

Fisheries

• 9 Except as herein otherwise provided, all rights of fishery shall, after the coming into force of this agreement, belong to and be administered by the Province, and the Province shall have the right to dispose of all such rights of fishery by sale, licence or otherwise, subject to the exercise by the Parliament of Canada of its legislative jurisdiction over sea-coast and inland fisheries.

Indian Reserves

• 10 All lands included in Indian reserves within the Province, including those selected and surveyed but not yet confirmed, as well as those confirmed, shall continue to be vested in the Crown and administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of Canada, and the Province will from time to time, upon the request of the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, set aside, out of the unoccupied Crown lands hereby transferred to its administration, such further areas as the said Superintendent General may, in agreement with the appropriate Minister of the Province, select as necessary to enable Canada to fulfil its obligations under the treaties with the Indians of the Province, and such areas shall thereafter be administered by Canada in the same way in all respects as if they had never passed to the Province under the provisions hereof.

• 11 The provisions of paragraph one to six inclusive and of paragraphs eight of the agreement made between the Government of the Dominion of Canada and the Government of the Province of Ontario on the 24th day of March, 1924, which said agreement was confirmed by Statute of Canada, fourteen and fifteen George the Fifth chapter forty-eight, shall (except so far as they relate to the Bed of Navigable Waters Act) apply to the lands included in such Indian reserves as may hereafter be set aside under the last preceding clause as if the said agreement had been made between the parties hereto, and the provisions of the said paragraphs shall likewise apply to the lands included in the reserves heretofore selected and surveyed, except that neither the said lands nor the proceeds of the disposition thereof shall in any circumstances become administrable by or be paid to the Province.

• 12 In order to secure to the Indians of the Province the continuance of the supply of game and fish for their support and subsistence, Canada agrees that the laws respecting game in force in the Province from time to time shall apply to the Indians within the boundaries thereof, provided, however, that the said Indians shall have the right, which the Province hereby assures to them, of hunting, trapping and fishing game and fish for food at all seasons of the year on all unoccupied Crown lands and on any other lands to which the said Indians may have a right of access.

Soldier Settlement Lands

• 13 All interests in Crown lands in the Province upon the security of which any advance has been made under the provisions of the Soldier Settlement Act, being chapter 188 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, and amending Acts, shall continue to be vested in and administered by the Government of Canada for the purposes of Canada.

National Parks

• 14 The Prince Albert National Park shall continue as a national park and the lands included therein as the same are described in Orders made by the Governor in Council on the twenty-fourth day of March, 1927 (P.C. 524), the eighteenth day of October, 1928, (P.C. 1846) and the sixth day of February, 1929, (P.C. 162), together with the mines and minerals (precious and base) in the said park and the royalties incident thereto, shall continue to be vested in and administered by the Government of Canada as a national park, but in the event of the Parliament of Canada at any time declaring that the said land or any part thereof is no longer required for park purposes, the lands, mines, minerals (precious and base) and the royalties incident thereto, specified in any such declaration, shall forthwith upon the making thereof belong to the Province, and the provisions of paragraph three of this agreement shall apply thereto as from the date of such declaration.

• 15 The Parliament of Canada shall have exclusive legislative jurisdiction within the whole area included within the outer boundaries of the said park, notwithstanding that portions of the said area may not form part of the park proper; the laws now in force within the said area shall continue in force only until changed by the Parliament of Canada or under its authority, provided, however, that all laws of the Province now or hereafter in force, which are not repugnant to any law or regulation made applicable within the said area by or under the authority of the Parliament of Canada, shall extend to and be enforceable within the same, and that all general taxing Acts passed by the Province shall apply within the same unless expressly excluded from application therein by or under the authority of the Parliament of Canada.

• 16 The Province will not, by works outside the boundaries of the said park, reduce the flow of water in any of the rivers or streams within the same to less than that which the Minister of the Interior may deem necessary adequately to preserve the scenic beauties of the said park.

• 17 In the event of its being hereafter agreed by Canada and the Province that any area or areas of land in the Province, in addition to that hereinbefore specified, should be set aside as national parks and be administered by Canada, the foregoing provisions of this agreement on the subject of parks may be applied to such area or areas with such modification as may be agreed upon.

Seed Grain, Etc., Liens

• 18 Every lien upon any interest in any unpatented land passing to the Province under this agreement, which is now held by Canada as security for an advance made by Canada for seed grain, fodder or other relief, shall continue to be vested in Canada, but the Province will, on behalf of Canada, collect the sums due in respect of such advances, except so far as the same are agreed to be uncollectible, and upon payment of any such advance, any document required to be executed to discharge the lien may be executed by such officer of the Province as may be authorized by any provincial law in that behalf; the Province will account for and pay to Canada all sums belonging to Canada collected hereunder, subject to such deduction to meet the expenses of collection as may be agreed upon between the Minister of the Interior and the Provincial Secretary or such other Minister of the Province as may be designated in that behalf under the laws thereof.

General Reservation to Canada

• 19 Except as herein otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this agreement shall be interpreted as applying so as to affect or transfer to the administration of the Province

  • (a) any lands for which Crown grants have been made and registered under the Land Titles Act of the Province and to which His Majesty the King in the right of His Dominion of Canada is, or is entitled to become the registered owner at the date upon which this agreement comes into force; or

  • (b) any ungranted lands of the Crown upon which public money of Canada has been expended or which are, at the date upon which this agreement comes into force, in use or reserved by Canada for the purpose of the federal administration.

Historic Sites, Bird Sanctuaries, Etc.

• 20 The Province will not dispose of any historic site which is notified to it by Canada as such and which Canada undertakes to maintain as an historic site. The Province will further continue and preserve as such the bird sanctuaries and public shooting grounds which have been already established and will set aside such additional bird sanctuaries and public shooting grounds as may hereafter be established by agreement between the Minister of the Interior and the Provincial Secretary or such other Minister of the Province as may be specified under the laws thereof.

• 20A The Province may discontinue any bird sanctuary or public shooting ground which was transferred to the Province by virtue of this Agreement or which has been established by the Province or which may hereafter be established by the Province pursuant to this Agreement in any case in which an agreement is entered into between the Minister of Mines and Resources of Canada and the Minister of Natural Resources and Industrial Development of Saskatchewan approved by the Governor in Council and the Lieutenant Governor in Council respectively, providing for the discontinuance of any such bird sanctuary or public shooting ground.

  • 1947, c. 45, s. 2

Financial Terms

• 21 In lieu of the provision made by subsection one of section twenty of the Saskatchewan Act, Canada will, from and after the date of the coming into force of this agreement, pay to the Province by half-yearly payments in advance, on the first days of January and July in each year, an annual sum based upon the population of the Province as from time to time ascertained by the quinquennial census thereof, as follows:

  The sum payable until such population reaches one million two hundred thousand shall be seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars;

  And thereafter the sum payable shall be one million one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.

• 22 If at the date of the coming into force of this agreement any payment has been made under the subsection one of section twenty of the Saskatchewan Act in respect of any half-year commencing before but terminating after the said date, a proportionate part of the payment so made shall be taken as having been made under the provisions hereof.

• 23 Provision will be made pursuant to section fifty-five of the Supreme Court Act, being chapter thirty-five of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1927, to submit for the consideration of the Supreme Court of Canada questions agreed upon between the parties hereto as being appropriate to obtain the judgment of the said Court, subject to appeal to His Majesty in Council in accordance with the usual practice, as to the rights of Canada and the Province respectively, before the first day of September, 1905, in or to the lands, mines or minerals (precious or base), now lying within the boundaries of the Province and as to any alienation by Canada before the said date of any of the said lands, mines or minerals or royalties incident thereto.

• 24 As soon as final answers to the questions submitted under the last preceding paragraph have been given, the Government of Canada will appoint three persons to be agreed upon to be Commissioners under Part I of the Inquiries Act, to inquire and report whether any, and if any, what consideration, in addition to the sums provided in paragraph twenty-one hereof, shall be paid to the Province in order that the Province may be placed in a position of equality with the other provinces of Confederation with respect to the administration and control of its natural resources either as from the first day of September, 1905, or as from such earlier date, if any, as may appear to be proper, having regard to the answers to the questions submitted as aforesaid; such commissioners to be empowered to decide what financial or other considerations are relevant to the inquiry and the report to be submitted to the Parliament of Canada and to the Legislature of Saskatchewan, if by the said report, the payment of any additional consideration is recommended, then, upon agreement between the Governments of Canada and of the Province following the submission of such report, the said Governments will respectively introduce the legislation necessary to give effect to such agreement.

Records

• 25 Canada will, after the coming into force of this agreement, deliver to the Province from time to time at the request of the Province the originals or complete copies of all records in any department of the Government of Canada relating exclusively to dealings with Crown lands, mines and minerals, and royalties derived therefrom within the Province, and will give to the Province access to all other records, documents or entries relating to any such dealings and permit to be copied by the Province any of the documents required by it for the effective administration of the Crown lands, mines, minerals and royalties.

Amendment of Agreement

• 26 The foregoing provisions of this agreement may be varied by agreement confirmed by concurrent statutes of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of the Province.

Reservation of Rights

• 27 This agreement is signed on behalf of the Province with the reservation on its part that neither the execution thereof nor any statute confirming the same shall affect or prejudice any right the Province may now have to call into question the legislative competence of the Parliament of Canada to enact certain sections of the Saskatchewan Act and the Dominion Lands Acts.

When Agreement Comes Into Force

• 28 This agreement is made subject to its being approved by the Parliament of Canada and by the Legislature of the Province of Saskatchewan, and shall take effect on the first day of the calendar month beginning next after the day upon which His Majesty gives His Assent to an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland confirming the same.

In witness whereof the Honourable Ernest Lapointe, Minister of Justice, and the Honourable Charles Stewart, Minister of the Interior, have hereunto set their hands on behalf of the Dominion of Canada, and the Honourable James Thomas Milton Anderson, Premier and Minister of Education of the Province, and the Honourable Murdoch Alexander MacPherson, Attorney-General thereof, have hereunto set their hands on behalf of the Province of Saskatchewan.