Western Canada Wilderness Committee v. Manitoba, 2012 MBQB 54

• Judge: Schulman, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: February 15, 2012
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: 2012 MBQB 54;(2012), 277 Man.R.(2d) 127 (QB)

Wilderness Com. v. Man. (2012), 277 Man.R.(2d) 127 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2012] Man.R.(2d) TBEd. MR.024

Western Canada Wilderness Committee (applicant) v. The Government of Manitoba (respondent)

(CI 11-01-72733; 2012 MBQB 54)

Indexed As: Western Canada Wilderness Committee v. Manitoba

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench

Winnipeg Centre

Schulman, J.

February 15, 2012.

Summary:

Manitoba, through the issuance of several licences under several statutes, authorized a company to construct an all season road on Crown land, through Grass River Provincial Park, for the purpose of transporting logs from a location outside of the park to a rail bed on the other side of the park. To lay a foundation for the road, the company had to cut down a number of trees. The approval of the project coincided with a decision by Manitoba to prohibit logging in provincial parks (Parks Act, s. 7(6); Forest Act, s. 15.1) . A public interest environmental citizen group moved for a declaration of the meaning of "logging" as used in s. 15.1(1) of the Forest Act. At issue was whether the authorization for the road's construction constituted a "commercial timber cutting right ... that authorizes logging on land in a provincial park" as used in the s. 15.1(1) prohibition.

The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench concluded that the authorization for the road's construction did not constitute the grant of a commercial timber cutting right that authorized logging on land in a provincial park.

Crown - Topic 6878

Crown lands - National and provincial parks - Restriction or prohibition of activities within (incl. development) - Manitoba authorized a company (Tolko) to construct a road on Crown land through a provincial park for the purpose of transporting logs from a location outside of the park to a rail bed on the other side of the park - To lay a foundation for the road, the company had to cut down a number of trees - The project's approval coincided with a prohibition by Manitoba against logging in provincial parks (Parks Act, s. 7(6); Forest Act, s. 15.1) - At issue was whether the authorization for the road's construction constituted a "commercial timber cutting right ... that authorizes logging on land in a provincial park" as used in the s. 15.1(1) prohibition - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench held that the Minister's issuance of the authorization was reviewable on the standard of correctness - The court concluded that the authorization did not constitute the grant of a commercial timber cutting right that authorized logging on land in a provincial park.

Forests and Forest Products - Topic 2406

Forest regulation - General - Crown lands (incl. conservation reserve) - [See Crown - Topic 6878 ].

Forests and Forest Products - Topic 2445

Forest regulation - Boards and tribunals - Ministerial decisions - Judicial review or appeals - Scope of - [See Crown - Topic 6878 ].

Words and Phrases

Logging - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench considered the meaning of "logging" as used in s. 15.1(1) of the Forest Act - See paragraphs 8 to 16.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Sharpe (J.R.), [2001] 1 S.C.R. 45; 264 N.R. 201; 146 B.C.A.C. 161; 239 W.A.C. 161; 2001 SCC 2, refd to. [para. 5].

Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd. (Bankrupt), Re, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 27; 221 N.R. 241; 106 O.A.C. 1, refd to. [para. 5].

Springfield (Rural Municipality) v. Provincial Municipal Assessor (Man.) (1992), 76 Man.R.(2d) 72; 10 W.A.C. 72; 86 D.L.R.(4th) 692 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 6].

Newfoundland and Labrador Wildlife Federation v. Newfoundland (Minister of Environment and Labour) et al. (2001), 201 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 284; 605 A.P.R. 284 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 6].

Earthroots Coalition v. Ontario (Minister of Natural Resources) (2003), 175 O.A.C. 219 (Div. Ct.), dist. [para. 6].

Statutes Noticed:

Forest Act, R.S.M. 1987, c. F-150; C.C.S.M., c. F-150, sect. 15.1(1) [para. 4].

Provincial Parks Act, S.M. 1993, c. 39; C.C.S.M., c. P-20, sect. 7(6) [para. 4].

Counsel:

D.G. Newman, Q.C., for the applicant;

G. Hannon, I. Wiebe and J. Koch, for the respondent.

This motion was heard by Schulman, J., of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Winnipeg Centre, who delivered the following judgment on February 15, 2012.