OCCUPATION OF PUBLIC LANDS UNDER SECTION 21.1 OF THE ACT, O. Reg. 161/17 (Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2023 )

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Coming into Force: 01 July 2023
• Status: current

Public Lands Act

ONTARIO REGULATION 161/17

OCCUPATION OF PUBLIC LANDS UNDER SECTION 21.1 OF THE ACT

Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 131/23.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

Definitions

Definitions

1. In this Regulation,

“accommodation unit” means a single-storey cabin or camping unit and includes a tent platform; (“unité d’hébergement”)

“breakwall” means a structure erected or placed along or near the water’s edge of a lake, river, stream or pond and that protects land from erosion; (“mur anti-érosion”)

“camping unit” means a structure or vehicle that may be used for camping purposes or as an outdoor accommodation and includes a tent, trailer, tent-trailer, recreational vehicle, camper-back and any watercraft equipped for overnight accommodation but does not include a floating accommodation; (“unité de camping”)

“floating accommodation” means a floating building, structure or thing, or a combination of floating buildings, structures or things, equipped or useable for overnight accommodation and not primarily designed to be used for navigation, and includes a floating building, structure or thing, or a combination of floating buildings, structures or things that,

(a) is primarily designed for or able to be used for residential purposes,

(b) is a raft, barge or floating platform that has on top of it a building, structure, vehicle or thing that may be used for overnight accommodation, for camping purposes or as an outdoor accommodation,

(c) would reasonably be expected to require towing to be placed on public lands or is placed on public lands by means of towing or any other type of assistance,

(d) is equipped with jack-up technology or a similar mechanism used to anchor or rise above the surface of the water, with or without spud cans, or

(e) has a floating foundation or a floatation platform which may include floats constructed of polystyrene, plastic, concrete or logs and stringers; (“hébergement flottant”)

“Forest Management Planning Manual” has the same meaning as in the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994; (“Manuel de planification de la gestion forestière”)

“forest operations” means forest operations as defined in section 3 of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994; (“opérations forestières”)

“hunting stand” means a tree stand, duck blind, ground blind or ground stand that is used for hunting; (“affût de chasse”)

“ice fishing hut” includes a tent, trailer, tent-trailer, recreational vehicle or camper-back that is used for ice fishing purposes; (“cabane de pêche sur glace”)

“swim raft” means a raft that is placed in water and anchored in place and used for diving and swimming purposes; (“radeau de baignade”)

“trail” includes a trail used for portage purposes; (“sentier”)

“trail shelter” means a cabin or roofed structure intended to provide shelter from the elements for persons using a trail; (“abri de sentier”)

“watercraft equipped for overnight accommodation” means a watercraft that is,

(a) equipped for overnight accommodation,

(b) primarily designed for and able to be used for navigation, and

(c) self-propelled and steered independently; (“embarcation équipée pour l’hébergement de nuit”)

“waterfront property” means a parcel of property that,

(a) has a boundary on a lake, river, stream or pond, or

(b) is separated from a lake, river, stream or pond only by,

(i) a road allowance, or

(ii) a strip of public lands that is not more than 30 metres in perpendicular width from the lake, river, stream or pond; (“bien riverain”)

“waterfront structure” means a dock, boat ramp, boat lift, boat port or marine railway located along or near the water’s edge of a lake, river, stream or pond, and includes any shade structures such as gazebos, canopies and pergolas that are located on or affixed to a dock. (“structure riveraine”) O. Reg. 161/17, s. 1; O. Reg. 453/19, s. 1; O. Reg. 285/21, s. 1; O. Reg. 131/23, s. 1.

Types of Buildings, Structures And Things
That May Be Erected, Placed or Used on Public Lands

Prescribed buildings and shelters

2. The following types of buildings and shelters are prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection 21.1 (1) of the Act:

1. A camping unit that is erected, placed or used,

i. for non-commercial camping, subject to the conditions set out in section 5,

ii. to carry out forest operations, subject to the conditions set out in section 6, or

iii. for commercial bait harvesting, subject to the conditions set out in section 7.

2. Accommodation units, and ancillary buildings and structures, that are erected, placed or used for trapping, subject to the conditions set out in section 8.

3. A trail shelter, subject to the conditions set out in section 9.

4. A single-storey boathouse, subject to the conditions set out in section 10.

5. An ice fishing hut, subject to the conditions set out in subsection 11 (1).

Prescribed structures

3. The following types of structures are prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection 21.1 (1) of the Act:

1. Hunting stands, subject to the conditions set out in section 12.

2. Waterfront structures, subject to the conditions set out in section 13.

3. Swim rafts, subject to the conditions set out in section 14.

4. Breakwalls, and the related backfill, subject to the conditions set out in section 15.

5. Groynes, subject to the conditions set out in section 16.

6. Bridges, culverts and causeways, subject to the conditions set out in section 17.

Prescribed things

4. The following types of things are prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of subsection 21.1 (1) of the Act:

1. Jumps and ramps that are erected, placed or used as part of a water-sport slalom course, subject to the conditions set out in section 18.

2. Boats, including canoes, kayaks and motor boats, subject to the conditions set out in section 19.

3. Heat loops, or water intake pipes, subject to the conditions set out in section 20.

4. Mooring blocks.

5. Harvested wood only if the following conditions are met:

i. the person is storing the harvested wood on behalf of the Crown or under the authority of a forest resource licence granted under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994.

ii. the harvested wood is being stored in a wood storage yard that is identified in a forest management plan approved under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994.

iii. storage of the harvested wood in the identified wood storage yard is being undertaken in compliance with the operational standards for wood storage set out in,

A. the approved forest management plan applicable to the wood storage yard, and

B. any written approval applicable to the wood storage yard issued by the Regional Supervisor, Wood Measurement Section of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry in accordance with the Forest Management Planning Manual. O. Reg. 161/17, s. 4; O. Reg. 285/21, s. 2.

Conditions for Occupation - Buildings and other Shelters

Camping units: private use

5. (1) A person is authorized to occupy public lands under section 21.1 of the Act for the purpose of erecting, placing or using a camping unit for private, non-commercial purposes only if the following conditions are met:

1. The person erects, places or uses the camping unit solely for non-commercial camping purposes.

2. The person does not occupy the public lands, or any other public lands within 100 metres thereof, for more than 21 days in a calendar year.

3. The public lands that are occupied are not part of a road, trail, parking lot or boat launch.

(2) This section does not apply to a person who is a non-resident within the meaning of Ontario Regulation 326/94 (Crown Land Camping Permit) made under the Act and who is erecting, placing or using a camping unit for private, non-commercial purposes on public lands in the area described in the Schedule to that Regulation.

Same: forest operations

6. A person is authorized to occupy public lands under section 21.1 of the Act for the purpose of erecting, placing or using a camping unit in the course of carrying out forest...