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1998/99 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament

FIRST READING

The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.

The printed version remains the official version.

HONOURABLE DAVID ZIRNHELT

MINISTER OF FORESTS

BILL 57 – 1999

RANGE AMENDMENT ACT, 1999

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Section 1 of the Range Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 396, is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) in the definition of "grazing season" by

striking out "or grazing permit;" and substituting ",

grazing permit or temporary grazing permit;" , and

(

b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) In sections 3, 7 (3) (

a) and (b), 9.1 (4) (

a) to (

c) and (5),

10 to 14.3, 17, 18, 30, 30.1 (2) and 30.2, a reference to a permit does not include a

reference to a temporary grazing permit or a temporary hay cutting permit.

Section 3 is amended by striking out "and hay cutting

permits." and substituting ", hay cutting permits and temporary

hay cutting permits."

3 Sections 3 to 6, 15, 18 and 29 are amended by striking out "regional

manager or" wherever it appears.

Section 7 (4) is repealed.

Section 8 is amended

(

a) by striking out "regional manager or" wherever it

appears, and

(

b) in paragraph (a) (

v) by striking out "regional manager's

or" .

Section 9 is amended

(

a) by striking out "regional manager or" wherever it

appears, and

(

b) in paragraph (a) (iv) by striking out "regional manager's

or" .

7 The following

section is added:

Temporary hay cutting permit

9.1

(1) In this section, "tenure holder"

means a party to an agreement with the government, referred to in

section 3, or, if

another person has the right to exercise the party's rights under the agreement, that

other person.

(2) An application for a temporary hay cutting permit must be made

to the district manager in accordance with the regulations.

(3) The district manager may, without advertising, issue a

temporary hay cutting permit for a term of not longer than one year.

(4) The permit referred to in subsection (3) may do one or more of

the following:

(

a) increase, within the area of a tenure holder's existing hay

cutting permit or hay cutting licence, the quantity of hay to which the tenure holder is

entitled under the existing licence or permit if the district manager believes a temporary

increase in that quantity will result in, or has resulted from, favourable growing

conditions of a temporary nature;

(

b) authorize the holder of the temporary hay cutting permit to

harvest hay covered by the hay cutting licence or hay cutting permit of another tenure

holder, whether or not the other tenure holder's licence or permit was issued before or

after the coming into force of this section, if the other tenure holder is temporarily

unable to use the quantity of hay authorized under the licence or permit;

(

c) subject to subsection (5), authorize the holder of a grazing

licence or grazing permit to harvest hay on all or part of the Crown range described in

the licence or permit if the district manager is satisfied that the issuance of the

temporary hay cutting permit will not affect the adequate management and conservation of

the Crown range to which the licence or permit applies;

(

d) authorize a person to harvest hay on Crown range that is in

excess of the amount authorized in, or not subject to, a licence or permit entered into

under this Act.

(5) If a temporary hay cutting permit is issued to the holder of a

grazing licence or permit for the purpose described in subsection (4) (c), the animal unit

months that the holder is eligible for under the grazing licence or permit, in the year

that the temporary hay cutting permit is issued, must be reduced by an amount that the

district manager considers is attributable to the hay harvested under the temporary hay

cutting permit.

Section 10 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by adding "referred to in subsections (2) and

(3)" after "Applications for licences and permits" , and

(

b) by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

(4) A licence or permit referred to in subsection (2) must not be

entered into under this Act unless the district manager advertises as provided in the

regulations.

9 Sections 13, 14, 21, 23, 24, 27 and 42 are amended by striking out "regional

manager" wherever it appears and substituting "district

manager" .

10 The following sections are added:

Direct award – no advertising required

14.1

(1) Despite

section 10, the district manager may,

without advertising or accepting applications from other persons, enter into a grazing or

hay cutting licence or permit if any of the following circumstances apply:

(

a) the number of animal unit months specified in the grazing

licence or permit is 100 or less;

(

b) the quantity of hay specified in the hay cutting licence or

permit is 10 tonnes or less;

(

c) the grazing or hay cutting licence or permit

(

i) is entered into with the holder of a permit, lease

or licence to occupy Crown land granted under the Land Act ,

(ii) was advertised in conjunction the Land Act permit,

lease or licence, and

(iii) is needed to carry out the operations authorized under, or

related to, the Land Act permit, lease or licence.

(2) An application for a grazing or hay cutting licence or permit

under this

section must be in the form specified by the district manager.

Direct award – advertising required

14.2

(1) Despite

section 10, the district manager may,

without accepting applications from other persons, enter into a grazing or hay cutting

licence or permit if any of the following circumstances apply:

(

a) the grazing or hay cutting licence or permit is entered into

with the holder of an existing licence or permit in exchange for all or part of the Crown

range described in the existing licence or permit, provided that the number of animal unit

months or quantity of hay specified in the licence or permit issued under this paragraph

is equal to or less than the number of animal unit months or quantity of hay that the

district manager considers is attributable to the Crown range being exchanged;

(

b) the grazing or hay cutting licence or permit is entered into

with the holder of a permit, lease or licence to occupy Crown land granted under the Land

Act, and the grazing or hay cutting licence or permit is needed to carry out the

operations authorized under, or related to, the Land Act permit, lease or licence;

(

c) other prescribed circumstances.

(2) The district manager must not enter into a grazing or hay

cutting licence or permit under subsection (1) unless he or she advertises in the

prescribed manner.

(3) An application for a grazing or hay cutting licence or permit

under this

section must be in the form specified by the district manager.

Award subject to conditions

14.3

(1) The district manager may, in the following

circumstances, impose conditions that a person entering into a licence or permit under

this Act must comply with, either as a condition of entering into the licence or permit or

as a condition of the licence or permit:

(

a) the licence or permit is entered into under

section 13 and the

conditions are specified in the proposal referred to in

section 11;

(

b) the licence or permit is entered into under

section 14 and the

conditions are specified in the directions referred to in

section 14 (1) (a);

(

c) the licence or permit is entered into under

section 14.l;

(

d) the licence or permit is entered into under

section 14.2 and

the conditions are specified in the advertising required under that section.

(2) If the person referred to in subsection (1) does not comply

with a condition imposed under that subsection, the district manager may, without a

hearing,

(

a) by written notice served on the person who is subject to the

condition,

(

i) refuse to enter into the licence or permit, or

(ii) cancel the licence or permit if the person who is subject to

the condition has entered into the licence or permit, and

(

b) make a proposal under

section 11 (2) to the other persons who

applied for that licence or permit if the licence or permit is entered into under

section

(3) Sections 31 to 38 do not apply to a cancellation under

subsection (2).

Section 15 is amended by striking out "or a grazing permit,"

and substituting ", grazing permit or temporary grazing permit," .

Section 16 is amended

(

a) by striking out "regional manager or" ,

(

b) by renumbering the

section as

section 16 (1), and

(

c) by adding the following subsection:

(2) If at any time during the last year of the term of a grazing

licence or hay cutting licence the holder applies for a new grazing licence or hay cutting

licence

(

a) over the Crown range specified in the licence, and

(

b) for a term to begin on the date the licence is due to expire,

a new grazing licence or hay cutting licence over that Crown range

and for a term beginning on that date must, no later than 4 months after the licence

expires, be entered into with an applicant in accordance with sections 10 to 15 unless the

district manager has determined that the rights applied for will not be available for

disposition by the government.

Section 20 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by striking out everything before paragraph (

a) and

substituting the following:

(2) The district manager may without notice cancel a licence or

permit if, without the district manager's prior written consent, ,

(

b) in subsections (3) (

g) and (5) by striking out "regional

manager" and substituting "district manager" , and

(

c) by adding the following subsections:

(6) If the district manager determines that there has been a

failure to obtain the consent required by this section, other than a failure that occurred

as a result of a failure to meet the requirements of subsection (3), but decides not to

cancel the licence or permit in respect of which the failure occurred, the district

manager is deemed to have given consent for the purposes of this section.

(7) If the district manager is deemed to have given consent under

subsection (6), the district manager may

(

a) impose those conditions and requirements on that consent that

the district manager considers necessary or advisable, and

(

b) without notice and despite sections 35 to 38, cancel the

licence or permit in respect of which the deemed consent was given if the district manager

determines that the conditions and requirements imposed under paragraph (

a) are not

complied with.

Section 22 is amended by striking out "must deliver to the

regional manager or district manager an assignment of the licence or permit in a form

required by the regional manager" and substituting "must deliver

to the district manager an assignment of the licence or permit in a form required by the

district manager" .

Section 23 is amended by striking out "sections 5 to 9"

wherever it appears and substituting "sections 5 to 9.1" .

Section 26 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out everything before paragraph (

a) and

substituting the following:

(1) Despite a licence, permit or other agreement entered into

under this Act, a district manager may change the boundaries of Crown range to which a

licence or permit applies and reduce the number of animal unit months or quantity of hay

to which the holder is entitled if in the district manager's opinion ,

(

b) in subsection (2) by striking out "regional manager"

and substituting "district manager" , and

(

c) by repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

(4) The district manager must serve the holder of the licence or

permit with a notice evidencing the amendment referred to in subsection (3).

17 The following sections are added:

Reporting requirements for grazing

30.1

(1) The holder of a grazing licence, grazing permit or

temporary grazing permit must, by December 31 in each year, report to the district manager

the number of animal unit months the holder has used under the licence or permit in that

year if

(

a) the use is 90% or less of the animal unit months the holder is

eligible for under the licence or permit, or

(

b) the use is more than 90% but less than 100% of the animal unit

months the holder is eligible for under the licence or permit, and reporting of the number

of animal months is required by the regulations.

(2) If

section 9.1 (5) applies to a grazing licence or permit, the

number of animal unit months that the grazing licence or permit holder is eligible to use,

for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, is the number that results from the

calculation described in

section 9.1 (5).

Increase of animal unit months or quantity of hay

30.2

(1) The district manager may, by written notice served

on the holder of a licence or permit, and with the consent of the holder of the licence or

permit, increase by an amount not exceeding 10%

(

a) the animal unit months to which the holder of a grazing

licence or permit is eligible under the licence or permit in a specified year, or

(

b) the maximum quantity of hay that the holder of the licence or

permit is granted the right to harvest from the area of the hay cutting licence or permit

in a specified year.

(2) Subsection (1) applies only if the district manager considers

that, due to favourable growing conditions, the increased amount can be used without

affecting the adequate management and conservation of the Crown range to which the licence

or permit applies.

Section 41 (4) is amended by striking out "a forest officer,

district manager or regional manager" and substituting "a forest

officer or district manager" .

Section 47 (4) is amended by striking out "regional manager"

and substituting "regional manager, district manager" .

Section 48 is amended

(

a) by adding "or" at the end of paragraph (a), and

(

b) by repealing paragraph (b).

Section 49 is amended

(

a) in subsection (2) by repealing paragraphs (

f) and (

g) and by adding the

following:

(

i) the form and content of applications for licences or permits;

(

j) advertising associated with the application for licences or

permits or the entering into licences or permits;

(

k) the circumstances when a licence or permit may be entered into

under

section 14.2;

(

l) for the purposes of

section 30.1 (1) (b), the circumstances

under which the holder of a grazing licence or permit is required to report the number of

animal unit months the holder has used in a year. , and

(

b) by adding the following subsection:

(3) In making a regulation under this Act, the Lieutenant Governor

in Council may do one or more of the following:

(

a) delegate a matter to a person;

(

b) confer a discretion on a person;

(

c) make different regulations for different persons, places,

things or transactions.

22 The Supplement to the Range Act is repealed.

Consequential Amendment

Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act

Section 44 of the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia

Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 159, is amended by adding "or temporary hay cutting

permit " after "temporary grazing permit" .

Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Range Act, amends

section 1]

(

a) adds a reference to temporary grazing permit in the

definition of "grazing season", consequential to the amendment made by paragraph

(

b) of this section;

(

b) provides that a reference to "permit" in the identified

sections of the Range Act does not include a temporary grazing permit

or temporary hay cutting permit.

SECTION 2: [Range Act, amends

section 3] adds a reference to

temporary hay cutting permits, consequential to the addition of those permits

to the Range Act by

section 7 of this Bill.

SECTION 3: [Range Act, amends sections 3 to 6, 15, 18 and 29]

changes references from a regional manager to references to a district manager

in order to make more efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 4: [Range Act, repeals

section 7 (4)] repeals a subsection

which has been made unnecessary, consequential to the amendment made by

section

1 (

b) of this Bill.

SECTION 5: [Range Act, amends

section 8] changes references from

a regional manager to references to a district manager in order to make more

efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 6: [Range Act, amends

section 9] changes references from

a regional manager to references to a district manager in order to make more

efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 7: [Range Act, enacts sections 9.1] allows the district

manager to issue a new form of agreement called a temporary hay cutting permit,

and specifies the circumstances under which the permit can be issued.

SECTION 8: [Range Act, amends

section 10]

(

a) ensures that the application requirements of

section

10 of the Range Act only apply to licences and permits that are referred

to in that section;

(

b) requires that new licences and permits be advertised

before they are entered into .

SECTION 9: [Range Act, amends sections 13, 14, 21, 23, 24, 27 and 42]

changes references from a regional manager to references to a district manager

in order to make more efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 10: [Range Act, enacts sections 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3]

section 14.1: specifies the circumstances under which a grazing or hay cutting

licence or permit can be directly awarded to a person without advertising;

section 14.2: specifies the circumstances under which a grazing or hay cutting

licence or permit can be directly awarded to a person, and requires the proposed

award to be advertised before it can proceed;

section 14.3: enables the district manager to impose conditions that must

be complied with before or after a person enters into a grazing or hay cutting

licence or permit, and specifies the consequences of failing to comply with

these conditions.

SECTION 11: [Range Act, amends

section 15] adds a reference to

temporary grazing permit, consequential to the amendment made by

section 1 (

b) of this Bill.

SECTION 12: [Range Act, amends

section 16]

(

a) changes references from a regional manager to references

to a district manager in order to make more efficient use of staff time;

(

b) is consequential to paragraph (

c) of this section;

(

c) permits applications for renewal of grazing or hay

cutting licences in the last year of the licence as well as in the second to

last and third to last years.

SECTION 13: [Range Act, amends

section 20]

(

a) changes references from a regional manager to references

to a district manager in order to make more efficient use of staff time;

(

b) changes references from a regional manager to references

to a district manager in order to make more efficient use of staff time;

(

c) makes provisions respecting consent required under

this

section .

SECTION 14: [Range Act, amends

section 22] changes references

from a regional manager to references to a district manager in order to make

more efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 15: [Range Act, amends

section 23] adds a reference to

section 9.1, consequential to the addition of

section 9.1 to the Range Act

section 7 of this Bill.

SECTION 16: [Range Act, amends

section 26]

(

a) changes references from a regional manager to references

to a district manager in order to make more efficient use of staff time;

(

b) changes references from a regional manager to references

to a district manager in order to make more efficient use of staff time;

(

c) provides for the district manager to provide a notice

to the holder of a licence or permit of an amendment rather than requiring an

agreement to be entered into.

SECTION 17: [Range Act, enacts sections 30.1 and 30.2]

section 30.1: provides for reporting requirements concerning the use of

the forage granted under grazing licences, grazing permits and temporary grazing

permits;

section 30.2: enables the district manager to increase the use authorized

under a grazing or hay cutting licence or permit by up to 10% if specified

conditions are met.

SECTION 18: [Range Act, amends

section 41 (4)] changes references

from a regional manager to references to a district manager in order to make

more efficient use of staff time.

SECTION 19: [Range Act, amends

section 47 (4)] adds a reference

to a district manager to the list of persons who sign certificates that are

governed by the subsection.

SECTION 20: [Range Act, amends

section 48] repeals a reference

to a not in force obsolete provision in the Supplement.

SECTION 21: [Range Act, amends

section 49]

repeals a reference to a not in force obsolete provision in the Supplement.

updates a regulation making power, and adds new powers consequential to

the amendments to the Range Act made by this Bill.

SECTION 22: [Range Act, repeals the Supplement] repeals not in

force obsolete provisions in the Supplement.

Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act

SECTION 23: [Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act, amends

section

44] adds a reference to temporary hay cutting permits, consequential

to the addition of those permits to the Range Act by

section 7 of this

Bill.

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