"2c629991-e335-48ed-8199-8cd142c5804b"@en . "CONTENTdm"@en . "REPORT ON ACTS."@en . "http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1198198"@en . "Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia"@en . "British Columbia. Legislative Assembly"@en . "2016-03-07"@en . "[1927]"@en . "https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcsessional/items/1.0228008/source.json"@en . "application/pdf"@en . " 16 Geo. 5 Report on Acts. Z 1\nEEPOET\nOf the Minister of Justice upon the Statutes of the Legislative Assembly of the\nProvince of British Columbia passed during the Session of 1925.\nBy Command.\nWILLIAM SLOAN,\nProvincial Secretary.\nProvincial Secretary's Office.\nAt Government House,\nVictoria, B.C., January 25th, 1027.\nSir,\u00E2\u0080\u0094I have the honour by direction to enclose herewith a certified copy of a Minute of\nCouncil dated the 13th instant, received from the Under-Secretary of State, Ottawa, approving\nthe report of the Minister of Justice upon the Statutes of the Province of British Columbia\npassed in the fifteenth year of His Majesty's Reign (1925), a copy of such report being attached\nto the Minute.\nI have the honour to be,\nSir,\nYour obedient servant,\nA. M. D. FAIRBAIRN,\nActing Private Secretary.\nThe Honourable the Provincial Secretary,\nVictoria, B.C.\nP.C. 34.\nCertified to be a True Copy of a Minute of a Meeting of the Committee of the Primj Council,\napproved by.His Excellency the Governor-General on the 13th January, 1927.\nThe Committee of the Privy Council have had under consideration the annexed report, dated\n7th January, 1927, of the Minister of Justice, upon the Statutes of the Province of British\nColumbia passed in the fifteenth year of the reign of His Majesty King George V. (1925) and\ni eceived by the Secretary of State of Canada on the 18th January, 192G.\nThe Committee \"concur in the opinion of the Minister of Justice as set out in the said report\nand advise that a copy hereof, together with a copy of the report of the Minister, be transferred:\nto His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia for the information of his Government.\nAll of which is respectfully submitted for Your Excellency's approval.\nE. J. LEMAIRE,\nClerk of the Privy Council.\nHis Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.\nP.C. 34.\nDepartment oe Justice, Canada.\nOttawa, 7th January, 1927.\nTo His Excellency the Governor-General in Council:\nThe undersigned has the honour to report that he has examined the Statutes of the Province\nof British Columbia passed in the fifteenth year of the reign of His Majesty King George V.\n(1925), and received by the Secretary of State of Canada on the 18th January, 1926, and he is of\nopinion that these Statutes may be left to such operation as they may have. With regard to chapter 51 of the said Statutes, being \" An Act to amend the ' Sumas\nDrainage, Dyking, and Development District Act,' \" a petition was received by the undersigned\nfrom a considerable number of owners of lands affected by the Sumas Drainage Scheme, praying\nfor the disallowance of the Act. A copy of the said petition is attached hereto. The undersigned has given attentive consideration to the allegations of the petition, but is unable to\nconclude that the exercise of the power of disallowance would in the circumstances of the case\nbe justifiable. The Statute in question is clearly within the legislative jurisdiction of the\nProvince and deals with a matter of general public policy in the Province. So far as the\nundersigned is aware, its provisions do not in any way trench upon any Dominion interest or\npolicy, and he is of opinion that the disallowance of the Act would be an interference by the\nDominion in matters of purely Provincial concern. He considers, therefore, that the Act should\nbe left to such operation as it may have. Having reached this conclusion, it becomes unnecessary\nto consider the merits or demerits of the legislation in question.\nThe undersigned recommends that a copy of this report, if approved, be transmitted to the\nLieutenant-Governor of the Province for the information of his Government.\nHumbly submitted.\n(Sgd.) Ernest Lapointe,\nMinister of Justice.\nHuntingdon, B.C., 6th February, 1026.\nThe Hon. the Minister of Justice, Ottawa.\nDear Sir,\u00E2\u0080\u0094The undersigned owners of lands abutting on the lands formerly comprising the\nbed of Sumas Lake respectfully invite your attention to \" An Act to amend the ' Sumas Drainage,\nDyking, and Development District Act,' \" passed by the Legislature of British Columbia at the\nsession of 1925 recently concluded.\nThis Act is pursuant to a grant of the lake- bottom hinds made by your Government to the\nGovernment of British Columbia in aid of a scheme of reclamation. This scheme was instituted\nby the owners of lands adjoining the lake, your petitioners amongst others, and these owners\nsecured from your Government and renewed on several occasions a conditional grant of the lake-\nbottom lands in aid of their undertaking. These owners had arranged, immediately before the\nwar, a firm contract with responsible contractors for the reclamation-works required, at a fixed\ncost accepted as within the capacity of the lands to repay. The war having halted the arrangement, the Provincial Government intervened, and secured from your Government a conditional\ntransfer of the lands intended to have been given to the adjoining owners. The Provincial\nGovernment then, through its Commissioners, proceeded to carry out the work of reclamation\nwithout regard to cost or the capacity of the lands to repay, and has incurred cost fully double\nthat arranged for between the owners and their intended contractors. The amount now involved\nand proposed to be levied is about iP3,(iO0.0OO, all of which is being assessed against the lands,\nunder conditions which indicate an accumulating burden against any remaining settlers when\nthe weaker financially are forced to abandon their homes and holdings.\nYour petitioners, regarding this charge as confiscatory, about a year ago applied to the\nCourts of British Columbia to declare invalid, for want of conformity with the then Statutes,\nthe assessment then proposed to be levied upon them; but before the trial of this cause the\nProvincial Government asked for a stay of proceedings so that it might introduce legislation\npromised as intended to ease the burden proposed. The plaintiffs accordingly agreed to the\nproceedings in Court being adjourned; but nowT find that the Act procured by the Provincial\nGovernment not only does not ease the burden as promised, but also forbids the continuance of\nthe case already in Court to set aside as illegal the ruinous assessments proposed and now\nconfirmed by this Act.\nYour petitioners realize that, in so far as the dealing with property is concerned, the\nProvincial Legislature has authority to pass such an Act; but we ask review of this Act\n\u00E2\u0096\u00A0by your Government because it deals in a tyrannical way, not contemplated, with a grant of\nland made by your Government, and so that the grant becomes an instrument of oppression\ninstead of one of relief as intended. Also, we ask your Government to indicate to all concerned 16 Gpo. 5 Report on Acts. Z 3\nthat in your view it is not in accordance with sound public policy to deny to citizens, as this\nAct does, the inherent and recognized right to appeal to the Courts against supposed cruel\ninjustice.\nFurther, we appeal to your Government for sympathetic consideration and action because\nthat we are settlers under the regulations of your Government on Railway Belt lands conveyed\nto your Government by the Province of British Columbia, and which now are in danger of\nconfiscation through this Act forbidding appeal to the Courts against illegal imposition of a tax\nin itself too great to be borne; and we suggest that your Government has proper interest in\nprotecting as now petitioned for these settlers on Dominion lands.\nWe respectfully suggest to your Government the course which in our opinion might well be\nfollowed: to disallow this Act as contrary to sound public policy in forbidding access to the\nCourts.\nFaithfully yours,\n[Signed by a large number of land-owner-s.]\nVICTORIA, B.C. :\nI'rintea by Charles F. Banfield, Printer to tbe King's Must Excellent Majesty.\n1927. "@en . "Legislative proceedings"@en . "J110.L5 S7"@en . "1926_1927_V02_15_Z1_Z3"@en . "10.14288/1.0228008"@en . "English"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "Victoria, BC : Government Printer"@en . "Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy or otherwise distribute these images please contact the Legislative Library of British Columbia"@en . "Original Format: Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Library. Sessional Papers of the Province of British Columbia"@en . "REPORT Of the Minister of Justice upon the Statutes of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia passed during the Session of 1925. By Command. WILLIAM SLOAN, Provincial Secretary. Provincial Secretary's Office."@en . "Text"@en . ""@en .