Two government announcements in western Canada signal a better climate for exploration, says Al Gourley, a director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.
In British Columbia, the government has promised to pass legislation defining a claim as an interest in land, rather than as a chattel interest.
Gourley, a partner at the Toronto legal firm Macleod Dixon, calls the change “significant” in that the courts have wrestled with the nature of a staked claim in the past but now the law will be clear.
A chattel interest is akin to a contractual relationship with the government. The courts have often held that it is not an interest in land, in which case parties who are frustrated with the development process of their property cannot claim compensation.
“This legislation ensures that government measures to limit mine development or expropriate lands will lead to compensation,” he says. “It’s a positive step.”
He adds that the legislation sends a message to the mining industry that it can invest in British Columbia without fear that delays in permitting of lands will not be compensated.
The move will also help companies that are seeking financing, as it is easier to pledge property, as opposed to a chattel interest, against a loan.
At the same time, the Yukon government is following the province’s lead in announcing that it will compensate prospectors when parks encroach on their claims.
“Since parks are going to be established, there might as well be clear rules around compensation,” says Brian Abraham of the Vancouver law firm of Lang Michener Lawrence & Shaw.
— The preceding is from the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada.
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