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This is an official version. Copyright © 2000: Queen's Printer, Important Information
Statutes of Newfoundland 1995 CHAPTER W-12 AN ACT RESPECTING PUBLIC WORKS, (Assented to December 21, 1995) Analysis 1. Short title 2. Definitions PART I 3. Closure of highways 4. Classification of highways 5. Ownership of highways 6. Boundaries of highways 7. Highways vested in the Crown 8. Regulations re buildings, etc. 9. Licences to use highway 10. Damage to highway 11. Encroachment on highway, etc. 12. Mail boxes 13. Offence 14. Drains, sewers, etc. 15. Moving a structureover highway 16. Removal of trees, shrubs, etc. 17. Highway closed 18. Alternative route 19. Consent of minister 20. Power of municipal authority 21. Road adopted as highway 22. Sidewalks, etc. 23. Agreements with municipal authority 24. Culverts and bridges 25. Part of highway assigned 26. Entrance to highway barred off 27. Highway intersecting road 28. Alterations 29. Utility poles 30. Removal or alteration of structures 31. Bridges and culverts 32. Advertising signs 33. Snow-clearing 34. Offence
35. Regulations re parking PART III 36. Public works development areas 37. Filing of plan 38. Acquisition of land 39. Improvements 40. Certain transactions void 41. Offences 42. Land owner's rights 43. Conflict of provisions PART IV 44. Central purchasing authority 45. Extension of minister's powers, etc. PART V 46. Definitions 47. Government Purchasing Agency 48. Director of GPA 49. Acquisition of supplies 50. Purchases by boards, etc. 51. Auditor general 52. Report to minister 53. Government bound 54. Application PART VI 55. Queen's Printer 56. Gazette, etc. 57. Official notices 58. Regulations re Gazette PART VII 59. Regulations 60. Identification card 61. Entry on land 62. Prohibition 63. Offences 64. Consent to prosecution Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows: Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Works, Services and Transportation Act. Definitions 2. In this Act (a) "airport" means an area of land, water, including the frozen surface of water or other supporting surface used or designed, prepared, equipped or set aside for use either in whole or in part for the arrival and departure, movement or servicing of aircraft and includes buildings, installations and equipment used in connection with aircraft; (b) "department" means the department presided over by the minister; (c) "highway" means a highway as defined by the Highway Traffic Act; (d) "main highway", "secondary highway" or "local road" means a highway classified and designated under section 4; (e) "minister" means the minister responsible for the administration of this Act; (f) "municipal area" means an area in which a municipal authority has jurisdiction; (g) "municipal authority" includes (i) the City of Corner Brook, (ii) the City of Mount Pearl, (iii) the City of St. John's, (iv) the local service district committee or the council of a community, town or region constituted or continued under the Municipalities Act; (h) "public institution" means an institution owned or operated by the government of the province; (i) "public work" means (i) a work or property under the control of the minister, and (ii) a public work as defined by the Public Tender Act; (j) "roadway" means roadway as defined by the Highway Traffic Act; and (k) "supplies" means (i) goods, chattels, materials and personal property of every kind, including supplies required to be manufactured, or on which or in relation to which a labour or skill is required to be expended before, upon or after delivery to the government, (ii) the provision of transportation of all kinds, (iii) subject to sections 55 to 58, printing and other similar reproduction, and (iv) services as defined by the Public Tender Act. PART I Closure of highways 3. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, after being satisfied by the minister that (a) a highway or a portion of a highway is (i) no longer required for use of the public as a highway, (ii) unsafe, or (iii) so situated that it is or may become a source of danger; or (b) the continued use of a highway or a portion of a highway is contrary to the public interest, make an order closing the highway or portion of the highway either permanently or for a period that may be specified in the order, and may (c) authorize the minister to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of the highway or portion of the highway for that consideration and subject to those terms and conditions that the minister prescribes, but the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may prescribe the consideration or the terms and conditions to which the disposition by the minister shall be subject; or (d) transfer, either forever or for a lesser term, to a minister of the Crown specified in the order, the administration and control of the entire highway or portion of the highway, and the transfer may be made subject to the conditions, restrictions or limitations that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council prescribes in the order. Classification of highways 4. (1) The minister may classify and designate a highway as a main highway, a secondary highway or a local road and may fix and determine the alignment, gradient and width of a new main or secondary highway to be constructed. (2) When a new highway is laid out or an existing highway is altered, the highway shall be at least 20 metres in width, but may be less than 20 metres in width where the minister considers the lesser width to be sufficient for public purposes. Ownership of highways 5. Except in so far as they have been closed according to law, (a) all allowances for highways made by surveyors of the Crown; (b) all highways laid out or established under the authority of an Act; (c) all roads on which public money has been expended for opening; (d) all roads dedicated by the owners of the land to public use; (e) all public roads now used as public roads; and (f) all alterations and deviations of and all bridges on or along a highway, except those that are vested in a municipal authority, are public highways vested in the Crown. Boundaries of highways 6. Until the contrary is shown, every highway is considered to be at least 20 metres in width and the centre line of an existing roadway is considered to be the centre line of the highway, and, where there is a dispute as to the boundaries of a highway, the boundaries shall be fixed by the deputy minister or his or her designate for that purpose, and an appeal lies from his or her decision to the minister whose decision is final. Highways vested in the Crown 7. Possession, occupation, use or obstruction of a highway or a part of a highway by a person for a period, whether before or after December 18, 1989, shall be considered not to have vested in or to vest in a person an estate in, right to, title to or interest in the highway or part of a highway, but a highway or part of a highway is and remains a public highway vested in the Crown. Regulations re buildings, etc. 8. (1) The minister may make regulations prohibiting, without his or her prior written permission, (a) the erection, alteration, repair or improvement of fences, signs, buildings or other structures; or (b) the planting of trees, shrubs or hedges within a distance, prescribed by the minister in the regulations, from the centre line of a highway, and in prescribing the distance the minister may prescribe with respect to one highway a different distance from that which the minister prescribes for another highway. (2) The minister may, in regulations made under subsection (1), prescribe penalties for breach of the regulations. (3) Where a roadway passes through a municipal area, a person shall not do anything referred to in subsection (1) or the regulations made under that subsection unless, in addition to complying with those regulations, the person has received a permit issued by the municipal authority for the municipal area if in that municipal area a permit is required for the doing of that thing. (4) Where a person is convicted of a breach of a regulation made under subsection (1), a Provincial Court judge may, in addition to imposing the penalty set out in the regulations, order the person convicted to remove, within a time prescribed by the Provincial Court judge, the building, sign, fence or other structure erected, altered, repaired or improved or the trees, shrubs or hedges planted, and where that person does not comply with the order within the time prescribed by the Provincial Court judge, the Provincial Court judge may designate another person to carry it out, and the cost of removal shall be paid by the person to whom the order was first directed and the minister may sue for and recover the cost of removal from that person as a civil debt. (5) In subsection (1), the word "structure" includes a gasoline filling station, garage, automobile service station and refreshment stand. Licences to use highway 9. (1) Where a person owns or occupies property adjoining the boundary line of a highway, the minister may issue to that person, and his or her successors in title, a licence to use, occupy, and if desired, improve a portion of land forming part of the highway between the boundary of the highway and the roadway for a purpose which the minister considers desirable. (2) A licence issued under this section shall be expressed to be granted under this Act. (3) A licence issued under this section shall be gratuitous and shall be expressed to be given, continuing and terminable at the absolute will of the Crown, and no licence shall by passage of time however long, or by a payment, or by a waiver or other event in law or by reason of an expenditure on the part of the licensee or his or her successors in title or otherwise, create a right in the licensee or his or her successors in title, or a claim or right of action against the Crown, other than the right to occupy and improve within the terms of the licence. (4) A licence issued under this section shall state the purposes for which it is given, and the improvements which may be made and the other terms and conditions which the minister shall think appropriate, including conditions respecting exits upon the highway, and from time to time a matter in the licence may be varied or withdrawn and a new term added in the discretion of the minister. (5) Improvements placed by the licensee upon the land under the terms and conditions of the licence shall, where required by the minister, be removed by the licensee or his or her successors in title at his or her or their expense upon the termination of the licence or upon an alteration of the terms requiring the removal, and where the licensee or his or her successors in title fail to remove them the minister may remove them and may sue for and recover the cost of the removal from the licensee or his or her successors in title as a civil debt. (6) Every person who is after December 17, 1989 occupying or using land, the use of which might be licensed under this Act, shall be considered to occupy and use it upon the terms of this section, and may be required by the minister to accept and sign a licence and, where that person refuses to accept and sign, that person may be expelled from the land by legal process. Damage to highway 10. (1) A person shall not do or permit to be done, whether on his or her own property or otherwise, in a place adjacent to a highway anything which may expose the highway to damage by the action of water, landslip, snow or ice or other natural forces. (2) The minister may proceed in the Trial Division for an injunction against an act or thing and, either concurrently or in the alternative, for the cost of repair of damage caused, but the Trial Division may refuse an injunction or damages on the ground that the act complained of is a reasonable enjoyment by a person of his or her own property. Encroachment on highway, etc. 11. (1) A person shall not (a) encroach upon or obstruct (i) a highway, or (ii) a beach, airport or ferry landing or the public way to them; (b) damage a highway, airport or ferry landing; (c) place or cause to be placed upon a highway, airport or ferry landing or allow to remain there a matter or thing which may damage it or constitute a hazard to users or interfere with the proper use and enjoyment of it; (d) pile, cause or allow to be piled pulpwood, firewood, lumber or another matter or thing (i) upon a roadway or the shoulder of a roadway or in or across a ditch line, or (ii) in a place or position adjacent to or near a highway where it may cause damage to the highway or interfere with the safe and proper use or enjoyment of the highway or hinder, impede or otherwise interfere with the maintenance, repair or improvement of the highway or the ploughing of or removal of snow or ice from the highway; or (e) erect or operate a light upon, adjacent to or near a highway in such a position that the beams from the light constitute or may constitute a hazard to persons using the highway. (2) A member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary or of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stationed in the province or an employee of the department, whether specifically authorized for the purpose or not, may (a) remove or cause to be removed; (b) dispose of or cause to be disposed of; or (c) take possession of, detain and sell or cause to be sold and pay into the Consolidated Revenue Fund the proceeds of the sale of anything found on a highway, beach, airport or ferry landing or in another place referred to in subsection (1) contrary to paragraphs (1)(a) to (d). (3) The minister may by order in writing require a person who erects or operates a light contrary to paragraph (1)(e) to remove it or adjust it in a manner that the minister may require within a time that the minister may prescribe in the order, and, where the light is not removed or adjusted in accordance with the order, the minister may remove or adjust it at the expense of the owner. (4) The minister may sue for and recover as a civil debt from a person who violates subsection (1) the cost of repairing damage done by that person to a highway, airport or ferry landing and the cost of removing and disposing of anything found upon a highway, beach, airport or ferry landing or in another place referred to in subsection (1) contrary to paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) or of removing or adjusting a light erected or operated contrary to paragraph (1)(e). (5) An action or other legal proceeding shall not be taken or brought against the minister or the persons referred to in subsection (2) or a person acting under the direction of either of them in respect of anything done under this section. Mail boxes 12. (1) A person shall not erect, keep up or maintain a mail box near a highway in a place or manner or which is of a kind that it (a) interferes with or may interfere with the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair or improvement of the highway or the ploughing of or removal of snow or ice from the highway; (b) interferes with or may interfere with the safe and proper use or enjoyment of the highway; or (c) constitutes or may constitute a hazard to users of the highway. (2) A member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary or of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stationed in the province or an employee of the department, whether specifically authorized for the purpose or not, may (a) order the owner or user to remove or relocate; or (b) remove and dispose of or relocate or cause to be removed and disposed of or relocated, at the expense of the owner or user, a mail box erected, kept up or maintained contrary to subsection (1). (3) The minister may sue for and recover as a civil debt from a person who violates subsection (1) the cost of removing and disposing of or relocating a mail box erected, kept up or maintained contrary to that subsection. (4) An action or other legal proceeding shall not be taken or brought against (a) the minister or the persons referred to in subsection (2) or a person acting under the direction of either of them in respect of anything done under that subsection; or (b) the minister or another person in respect of the total or partial destruction of, damage to or loss of a mail box or the contents of a mail box or the post or other thing upon which the mail box is placed or which forms part of it, whether or not it was or is erected, kept up or maintained contrary to subsection (1), caused by or arising out of the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair or improvement of a highway or the ploughing of or removal of snow or ice from the highway except where that destruction, damage or loss resulted from an unlawful act or the improper performance of a lawful act. Offence 13. (1) A person who (a) places an obstruction in a drain, gutter, sluice or watercourse on a highway; (b) by a dam or obstruction prevents water flowing from a highway onto the adjoining land whether or not the person is the owner or occupant of the land; or (c) causes water to flow over a highway, is guilty of an offence. (2) The minister may order the removal, demolition or destruction of an obstruction or dam referred to in subsection (1) and may sue for and recover as a civil debt from the person who acted in contravention of that subsection the cost of removing, demolishing or destroying it and the cost of repairing the damage caused by it and other damage naturally resulting from the contravention. Drains, sewers, etc. 14. A municipal authority or person shall not enter upon, take up or interfere with a highway for the purpose of laying down or repairing a drain, sewer, water pipe, gas pipe, conduit or a structure beneath the surface of the highway, except with the consent of the minister and in a manner satisfactory to the minister and under and subject to those terms and conditions that the minister may prescribe. Moving a structure over highway 15. (1) Except under a permit issued by the minister, a person may not move a structure, whether on wheels or otherwise, or a vehicle with a flange, rib, clamp or other device attached to wheels or rollers or made a part of them over or upon a highway, and the minister may in the permit impose those special conditions and provisions that the minister considers necessary for the protection of the highway from injury, and may require a bond sufficient to cover the cost of repairing a possible injury to the highway. (2) A person who commits a breach of the conditions and provisions imposed in a permit issued under subsection (1) or to which a permit is subject is guilty of an offence. Removal of trees, shrubs, etc. 16. (1) The minister may direct the removal of a tree, shrub, bush, hedge, fence, signboard, gasoline pump, building or other object growing or standing on lands adjacent to the highway where, in the minister's opinion, the safety or convenience of the travelling public so requires or that object may cause the drifting or accumulation of snow or is injurious to the roadbed. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the removal of the items referred to in subsection (1) shall be subject to the payment of compensation that may be agreed upon or that may be determined in the manner provided by law for the payment of compensation in respect of the expropriation of land. Highway closed 17. (1) While the construction, repair or improvement of a work authorized by this Act is in progress on a highway, the minister may close the highway or a portion of it to traffic for those periods that the minister considers necessary, and a person who uses a highway or a portion of a highway so closed does so at his or her own risk and has no right of action against the minister or anyone authorized by the minister to engage in the construction, repair or improvement. (2) A person who uses a highway or a portion of a highway while it is closed under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence. (3) Where a person while using a highway or a portion of a highway closed under subsection (1) causes damage or injury to the highway or property of the Crown, the minister may sue for and recover the cost of repair of the damage or injury from the person as a civil debt. Alternative route 18. While the construction, repair or improvement of a highway or a work authorized by this Act is in progress on a highway, the minister may provide and keep in repair a reasonable alternative route for traffic or may enter into an agreement with a municipal authority for that purpose, but nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing on the minister a duty to provide an alternative route or to enter into an agreement. Consent of minister 19. A municipal authority shall not close or divert a road or right of way for a road entering or touching upon or giving access to a highway without the consent of the minister. Power of municipal authority 20. The minister has and may exercise within the limits of a municipal area along the course of a highway all the powers which may be exercised by the municipal authority exercising jurisdiction in that municipal area to lay out, construct or maintain a highway. Road adopted as highway 21. The minister has, in respect of a highway the ownership of which was formerly vested in a municipal authority, all the rights, powers, benefits and advantages conferred by an Act, regulation, by-law, order, proclamation or contract or otherwise upon the municipal authority and held by it immediately before jurisdiction over the road became vested in the minister, and the minister may sue upon those rights or under an agreement or contract in the same manner and to the same extent as that municipal authority might have done if jurisdiction over the road had not become vested in the minister. Sidewalks, etc. 22. A municipal authority may within its municipal area construct or put down a sidewalk or carry out other improvements along a highway, but no work shall be undertaken without the consent of the minister, and a municipal authority constructing a sidewalk or other improvement along a highway shall conform to requirements or conditions imposed by the minister and is responsible for injury or damage arising from the construction or presence of the sidewalk or improvements. Agreements with municipal authority 23. The municipal authority of a municipal area through, in or upon which a part of a highway is located or an owner of property adjoining the highway may enter into an agreement with the minister for the construction of a pavement or roadway of greater width than or with different specifications from those of the remainder of the pavement or roadway, and the minister may construct a pavement or roadway of an additional width or varied specifications that may be agreed upon and may agree as to the apportionment of costs in that case. Culverts and bridges 24. The minister shall determine and fix the dimensions and specifications of a culvert or bridge to be constructed as part of a highway, but the minister may enter into an agreement with a municipal authority or with a person to construct a culvert or bridge of greater dimensions or varied specifications and may agree as to the apportionment of costs in that case. Part of highway assigned 25. Where a highway constructed within the limits of a municipal area is no longer required as a highway by reason of the construction of an alternative route, the minister may designate the alternative route as the highway, and the original highway shall come under the jurisdiction of the municipal authority. Entrance to highway barred off 26. (1) Where the entrance or approach to property adjoining a highway is barred off or made unusable by reason of repair or improvement of the highway, the minister shall provide an alternative entrance or approach not exceeding 7 metres in width, but the minister shall not be liable to provide an entrance or approach to property where no entrance or approach existed previously. (2) The minister may, at the request of the owner or occupant of property adjoining a highway, agree to construct one or more entrances or approaches, subject to those conditions respecting the payment or sharing of costs by a class of owners or occupiers that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may prescribe by regulations. Highway intersecting road 27. Where a main highway connects with or intersects a road which is not a main highway, the continuation of the highway to its full width across the road so connected or intersected, including bridges and culverts, is part of the main highway. Alterations 28. Where it is considered desirable to change the grade or make alterations in a highway intersecting or affording means of access to a main or secondary highway, or giving access to private property, the cost of the change or alteration shall be part of the cost of the construction of the main highway and shall be borne and paid accordingly, but the minister is not liable for damage alleged to be suffered by the owner or occupier of adjoining land as the result of the changing of grade or alterations in a highway unless it is proved that the work was done arbitrarily, unreasonably or oppressively. Utility poles 29. (1) A public utility as defined in the Public Utilities Act which provides telephone or telegram service or electric power or energy or heat may erect or place and maintain on or under a highway, poles, anchors, underground cables, conduits or pipes where the poles, anchors, underground cables, conduits or pipes are erected or placed (a) within a reservation prescribed in regulations made under section 8; (b) not nearer to the centre of the highway than 1.5 metres from the outside boundary of a reservation referred to in paragraph (a); and (c) other than on or under a roadway. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a public utility referred to in subsection (1) may, with the prior written consent of the minister, erect or place and maintain poles, anchors, underground cables, conduits or pipes on or under a portion of a reservation referred to in paragraph (1)(a) which is nearer to the centre of the highway than 1.5 metres from the outside boundary of that reservation, which consent may contain terms and conditions pertaining to the erection or placement and maintenance. (3) A public utility referred to in subsection (1) whose wires or cables cross a highway shall ensure that those wires or cables installed, repaired or replaced after December 3, 1982 have a minimum clearance over the highway in accordance with specifications made by the Canadian Standards Association but in no event shall the clearance be less than 5.5 metres. (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), a public utility referred to in subsection (1) whose wires or cables cross a highway shall, not later than a date set by the regulations, ensure that those wires or cables have a minimum clearance over the highway in accordance with specifications made by the Canadian Standards Association but in no event shall the clearance be less than 5.5 metres. (5) In subsection (1) the expression "reservation prescribed in regulations made under section 8" means that area in which under those regulations the erection, alteration, repair or improvement of fences, buildings or other structures or the planting of trees, shrubs or hedges is, without the minister's permission, prohibited. Removal or alteration of structures 30. (1) Where a person has works or structures, including telegraph, telephone or electric light or power wires and poles, upon or crossing a highway, the minister may repair or make those alterations in location or elevation or grade that may be necessary for the proper construction of the highway and may by an order in writing direct the removal or alteration of the works or structures by the owner of the works or structures and may designate the place to which they shall be removed and the alterations to be effected, and the owner of the works or structures shall, upon the receipt of the order, proceed to effect their removal or alteration in accordance with the order and within a period that may be prescribed in the order. (2) The minister may, from money provided by the Legislature, pay to the owner of the works or structures referred to in subsection (1) an amount sufficient to defray expenses or losses incurred by the owner in carrying out an order of the minister made under that subsection, and the amount to be paid may be settled by agreement between the minister and the owner, but, where the amount cannot be so settled, the minister shall decide the amount and his or her decision is final and binding upon the parties. (3) Where the owner of the works or structures referred to in subsection (1) fails to carry out the order of the minister referred to in that subsection within the period specified in the order or within a further period that the minister may in writing allow, the owner is guilty of an offence, and the minister may by his or her servants or agents effect the removal or alteration required by the order and the minister may sue for and recover the cost of the removal or alteration from the owner as a civil debt. Bridges and culverts 31. Where a highway is constructed across a natural drainage course, the minister may construct those bridges or culverts that the minister considers necessary to control the flow of water across the highway and the minister is not liable for injury or damage suffered by the owner or occupier of adjoining land by reason of greater or more concentrated flow of water over or upon the adjoining land, but the minister may provide as many drains as the minister considers desirable through the adjoining land without rendering himself or herself liable to maintain them or keep them in repair. Advertising signs 32. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a person shall not erect or keep up a sign, signboard or hoarding displaying an advertisement in a manner that it is visible from a highway (a) outside a municipal area, within 400 metres from the centre line of the highway; or (b) within a municipal area, within (i) 20 metres from the centre line of the highway, or (ii) a building line established or fixed under the Urban and Rural Planning Act or under the authority of another Act, whichever distance is greater. (2) In subsection (1) "municipal area" means the area within the boundaries of the City of St. John's, the City of Corner Brook, the City of Mount Pearl and a town, community or local service district constituted or continued under the Municipalities Act, but does not include an area that is outside those boundaries but that for particular purposes only is subject to the control of the municipal authority. (3) A sign may be erected or kept up (a) on premises where a business is carried on, if it is a plain lettered sign showing the name, business description and business of the owner or occupier of the premises; (b) on premises where a gasoline station is operated, to show in addition to or in place of a sign described in paragraph (a), words, letters or symbols advertising petroleum products and automotive supplies sold on the premises; (c) if it is erected upon and wholly supported by a building and advertises only goods which are for sale in the building; (d) with the prior approval in writing of the minister or a person authorized by the minister for the purpose, if it does not advertise a business, product or service and is erected by the Newfoundland Forest Protection Association in the interests of fire prevention or by the Safety Council of Newfoundland in the interests of highway safety; or (e) as provided by regulations made under the Urban and Rural Planning Act, and every sign erected or kept up under this subsection shall be maintained in good condition to the satisfaction of the minister. (4) The minister, or a person authorized by the minister for the purpose, may erect signs identifying by name and symbol establishments within a 15 kilometre distance that provide food, fuel, accommodation or handicrafts. (5) An establishment whose name appears on a sign erected under subsection (4) shall be subject to a fee that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by order prescribe. (6) The minister may by an order in writing require a person who erects or keeps up a sign or signboard contrary to this section or who fails to maintain a sign in good condition in accordance with subsection (3) to remove it within a time that the minister may prescribe in the order. (7) The minister may, whether or not the minister has made an order under subsection (6), by a person the minister may authorize for the purpose, remove a sign or signboard erected or kept up contrary to this section or which is not maintained in good condition to the satisfaction of the minister, and the minister may sue for and recover the cost of the removal as a civil debt from the person who erected it or kept it up. (8) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or fails to obtain the prior approval in writing of the minister or person authorized by the minister under subsection (3) or fails to carry out an order of the minister made under subsection (6) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $25 for every day which the contravention or failure continues. Snow-clearing 33. (1) The minister may, by his or her engineers, agents, servants or workers, enter upon and occupy land adjoining a highway to erect snow-fences upon the land for the purpose of preventing the highway from becoming blocked by snowdrift, and may enter upon the land for the purpose of maintaining, repairing, removing or replacing a snow-fence, and may deposit upon the land snow removed from a highway. (2) Except with the consent in writing of the Attorney General, no person is entitled to rent or other compensation or damages in respect of an entry or occupation effected under subsection (1) or in respect of the depositing of snow upon the land. Offence 34. A person shall not obstruct or interfere with an engineer, agent, servant or worker of the minister engaged in exercising on behalf of the minister a power under this Act or take down, remove, or otherwise interfere with a snow-fence, survey-stake or other marker or other erection erected under this Act or in any way interfere with a work done under this Act. PART II Regulations re parking 35. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations for prohibiting the parking of vehicles on land owned or occupied by the government of the province, in this section referred to as "land", or for permitting the parking of vehicles on the land under permit or otherwise and may set out in the regulations the conditions to which the permits are subject or on which parking is otherwise permitted. (2) For the purpose of this section, land or a portion of land owned or occupied by a hospital is considered to be land owned or occupied by the government of the province. (3) For the purpose of subsection (2) "hospital" means a hospital included in the Schedule to the Hospitals Act. (4) The minister may issue a permit to a person to park his or her vehicle on the land referred to in the permit and may attach further conditions to the permit, and the minister may attach different conditions to different permits. (5) The holder of a permit referred to in subsection (4) shall park his or her vehicle in accordance with the conditions attached to the permit or to which it is subject, or, where there are no conditions, as otherwise directed by the minister. (6) Different regulations may be made under subsection (1) respecting different pieces of land and regulations may be made so as to apply generally or during particular periods or at or between specified times or in particular circumstances or subject to particular conditions, and the land to which regulations refer shall be referred to by name or other description in the regulations. (7) The minister may erect or direct to be erected signs containing the words "NO PARKING" or "NO PARKING EXCEPT UNDER PERMIT" or symbol for "NO PARKING" or "NO PARKING EXCEPT UNDER PERMIT" to show whether parking is permitted on the land to which the sign refers and other words, symbols, figures or letters to show that the land is owned or occupied by the government of the province and to indicate the days on which or the periods during which or the hours between which parking is permitted on the land, and the land to which a sign refers may be indicated by additional words or symbols inscribed on the sign which may describe or refer to the land by name or other description or by reference to another sign erected on or near the land or to another object or mark. (8) A person who contravenes (a) the regulations referred to in this section; (b) a condition attached to or prescribed in respect of a permit issued under subsection (4); or (c) a direction of the minister referred to in subsection (5), is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $5 and not more than $20 and in default of payment of the fine to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 days. (9) The minister may erect or direct to be erected on land at places where the minister considers necessary signs (a) conveying the order not to enter the land or a part of the land or a road on it, the signs having inscribed on them the words "NO ENTRY" or "DO NOT ENTER" or symbol for "NO ENTRY" or "DO NOT ENTER"; (b) conveying the order to drive a vehicle in one direction only on the land or on a road on it, the signs having inscribed on them the words "ONE WAY" or symbol for "ONE WAY" and an arrow indicating the direction vehicular traffic is to move; (c) conveying the order to stop, the signs having inscribed on them the word "STOP" or symbol for "STOP"; (d) conveying the order to yield right of way, the signs having inscribed on them the words "YIELD" or symbol for "YIELD"; (e) indicating by words, symbols, figures or letters or 2 or more of them (i) the maximum or minimum speed at which vehicles may be driven on the land or on a road on it, (ii) the portion, or the beginning and the end, of a road to which the maximum or minimum speed limit applies, (iii) the period within which or hours or days during which the maximum or minimum speed limit is in force; (f) indicating the direction in which vehicles may be driven or moved on the land or a part of the land or on a road on land, the signs having inscribed on them the words "IN ONLY" or "OUT ONLY" or symbol for "IN ONLY" or "OUT ONLY"; (g) designating roads to be used by vehicles moving in a particular direction; and (h) for the safe and expeditious control of traffic, the signs having inscribed on them words, symbols, figures or letters or 2 or more of them that the minister shall determine, and a person failing to obey an order, direction or instruction inscribed on or an indication given or conveyed by a sign erected under this subsection is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $10 and not more than $50 and in default of payment of the fine to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 14 days. (10) A sign erected on land, that is of a kind or of a description prescribed or authorized by this section, shall be considered to have been lawfully erected or directed to have been erected by the minister. (11) For the purpose of subsection (7), the word "road" includes a road, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, lane, pathway, square, place, bridge, culvert, viaduct or trestle on the land. (12) The minister or some person authorized by the minister in writing may, either before or after the institution of proceedings against a person for an offence under this section, accept from the person alleged to have been guilty of that offence a payment of a sum not less than the minimum fine prescribed for that offence. (13) For the purpose of this section (a) "park" means to permit a vehicle whether occupied or not to remain in a stationary position; (b) "person" includes a partnership or corporation; and (c) "vehicle" means vehicle as defined by the Highway Traffic Act. PART III Public works development areas 36. (1) Where it is intended (a) to expend public money on the acquisition and development of an area of land for the purpose of the Crown, an agency of the Crown, a company in which not less than 90% of all issued common shares are owned by the Crown, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, or another corporation or public body the members or board of which are appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and (b) to acquire all the lands in that area over a period of time as they become available or are needed, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may by order declare that area of land to be a public works development area, and every public works development area shall be identified by some descriptive words or by a number. (2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, from time to time by further orders, cancel or amend an order made under subsection (1). Filing of plan 37. The minister shall file (a) a copy of every order made under subsection 36(1) and a plan of the public works development area created by the order; and (b) a copy of every order amending or cancelling an order referred to in paragraph (a), and a revised plan of the public works development area, where the original plan is altered by an amending order, with the Registrar of Deeds, and every order and plan so filed may be inspected in the same manner and subject to the same conditions prescribed in respect of an instrument registered at the Registry of Deeds. Acquisition of land 38. (1) Land within a public works development area shall be acquired by the minister for and in the name of the Crown (a) by purchase where the owner of the land is willing to sell it; (b) by expropriation in accordance with the Expropriation Act, (i) where the owner of the land wishes the Crown to acquire it, but agreement cannot be reached as to price, or (ii) where the owner of the land requests that the land be expropriated or consents to expropriation; or (c) by purchase or expropriation, without restriction, where the land is required for or in connection with a public work. (2) Where the minister on behalf of the Crown is negotiating the purchase of land in a public works development area and the owner indicates that in the event of a sale the owner wishes to retain possession or the right to possession of the land for the time being or until it is required for or in connection with a public work, the minister shall negotiate with that owner in good faith and in preference to another person for the leasing of the land to that owner when it is sold to the Crown. Improvements 39. A person shall not (a) erect, construct, place or make a building, structure, thing or other improvement; or (b) add to, alter, renew or repair a building, structure, thing or improvement on, in, over or under land within a public works development area, except with the approval in writing of the minister. Certain transactions void 40. A transaction entered into without the approval in writing of the minister by the owner or occupier of land within a public works development area by way of agreement for sale or sale of the land or an interest in the land or of anything in or on the land either at the time the transaction was entered into or subsequent to the transaction is void. Offences 41. (1) A person who contravenes section 39 is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 and in default of payment of the fine to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months. (2) The conviction of a person for contravening section 39 shall not operate as a bar to further prosecution under this Act for the continued failure or contravention on the part of that person. (3) In addition to the penalty prescribed in subsection (1), the Provincial Court judge who convicts a person of an offence referred to in that subsection may order that person (a) to remove or restore to its former state a building, structure, thing or development constructed, erected, placed, made, added to, altered or repaired on, in, over or under land; and (b) to restore to its former state land dealt with, contrary to section 39, or to do all or any of those things, and where that person refuses or fails to carry out the order made under this subsection within the time prescribed in the order, the Provincial Court judge may, on an application made on behalf of the minister, designate another person to carry it out, and the cost of carrying out the order may be recovered by the minister from the person convicted as a civil debt due to the Crown. Land owner's rights 42. A person who holds or acquires an interest in land within a public works development area holds or acquires that interest subject to sections 36 to 41. Conflict of provisions 43. The Family Homes Expropriation Act applies to acquisition of property under sections 36 to 42 but where a conflict exists between sections 36 to 42 and another Act or regulation, those sections prevail. PART IV Central purchasing authority 44. Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the minister may establish within the department, under the minister's management and control, a central purchasing authority for the purpose of carrying out the minister's powers, functions and duties which the minister assigns to that central purchasing authority, and the minister is authorized and empowered to make that assignment. Extension of minister's powers, etc. 45. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, where the central purchasing authority referred to in section 44 is fully operational and provided the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is satisfied by the minister that the institution concerned will benefit financially in its general operations from the inclusion, by order include among the powers, functions and duties of the minister the purchasing or otherwise acquiring of supplies required by an institution in the province, to be specified in the order, which is not a public institution but which performs a function which the Lieutenant-Governor in Council considers to be in the public interest. (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), "purchasing" may, if the Lieutenant-Governor in Council orders, include storing or distribution, or both. (3) For the purpose of subsection (1), "institution" includes (a) a hospital, whether privately owned or not so designated by order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; and (b) a board, commission, corporation or other body, incorporate or unincorporated, which is an agency or arm of the Crown or is carrying out a function on behalf of, or a function which is usually carried out by, the Crown. PART V Definitions 46. In this Part (a) "agency" means the Government Purchasing Agency referred to in section 47; (b) "amount" means the cost or price of the supplies, whether that cost or price is fixed or estimated; (c) "auditor general" means the auditor general as defined by the Financial Administration Act; (d) "director" means the director of the agency appointed under section 48; (e) "public advertisement" means an advertisement in the public press, and, for the purpose of this Act, the public press is considered to include the Gazette; and (f) "tender" means a call for tender invited by public advertisement. Government Purchasing Agency 47. (1) The Government Purchasing Agency is continued and made a part of the department. (2) The agency shall be under the immediate management and control of an officer to be known as the Director of the Government Purchasing Agency. (3) All persons required by the agency to carry out its powers, functions and duties, other than the director, shall be appointed in the manner authorized by law. Director of GPA 48. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council shall appoint a person to be Director of the Government Purchasing Agency. (2) The director shall hold office during good behaviour but shall be removed from office by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council on the passing by the House of Assembly of a resolution requiring the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to so remove the director. (3) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may not reduce the salary that the director previously received without the assent of the House of Assembly. (4) The minister may appoint a person to perform the duties of the director during a vacancy in the office of the director or during the illness or absence of the director and the person so appointed has for those purposes the powers and shall perform all the functions and duties of the director. (5) The director is considered to be an employee for the purpose of those provisions of the Public Service Pensions Act, 1991 that are consistent with this Act, including those provisions concerning the retirement age and the advanced or deferred pension privileges of an employee. Acquisition of supplies 49. (1) The agency shall acquire by purchase or otherwise all supplies that are required by the departments of the public service in accordance with the Public Tender Act. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the agency may permit the acquisition of supplies otherwise than through the agency, subject to the Public Tender Act, where the director is satisfied that it is in the interest of efficiency to do so, and it may limit its permission to specified supplies, to an amount, or to certain departments. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the director, where satisfied that it is in the interest of efficiency to do so, may avail himself or herself of the offices of a person in the public service and delegate to that person the power to acquire services on behalf of the agency in accordance with the Public Tender Act. (4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where supplies are acquired under subsection (2) or (3), the agency shall be advised as soon as is practical and shall be furnished with all details of the acquisition in a form that the director may prescribe. Purchases by boards, etc. 50. (1) Where the director is satisfied that it is in the interest of efficiency to do so, the agency shall acquire, by purchase or otherwise, all supplies that are required by a board, commission, corporation or other body, incorporated or unincorporated, which is an agency or arm of the Crown or is carrying out a function on behalf of, or a function that is usually carried out by, the Crown and to which board, commission, corporation or body the Lieutenant-Governor in Council by order directs that this section shall apply. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the agency may, where the director is satisfied that it is in the interest of efficiency to do so, permit the acquisition, subject to the Public Tender Act, by a board, commission, corporation or body of specified supplies or specified services to a specified amount. (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the director, where satisfied that it is in the interest of efficiency to do so, may avail himself or herself of the offices of a person in the public service and delegate to that person the power to acquire supplies on behalf of the agency in accordance with the Public Tender Act. (4) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where supplies are purchased under subsection (2) or (3), the agency shall be advised as soon as is practical and shall be furnished with all details of the purchase in a form that the director may prescribe. Auditor general 51. All records in the possession of the agency shall be made available to the auditor general on the auditor general's request. Report to minister 52. The director shall furnish to the minister information concerning the carrying out of the director's duties and responsibilities and the activities of the agency that the minister may request. Government bound 53. The government is bound by the actions of the agency and the director acting within the scope of authority conferred by this Act. Application 54. This Part applies notwithstanding the other provisions of this Act. PART VI Queen's Printer 55. The minister may, by order, appoint an officer of the department to be the Queen's Printer for the province who shall, under the direction of the minister, exercise the printing and publishing functions for the government of the province that are assigned to the Queen's Printer by law or that may be assigned to the Queen's Printer by the minister. Gazette, etc. 56. (1) The Queen's Printer shall publish an official gazette, which shall be known as The Newfoundland Gazette. (2) The Queen's Printer shall print and publish all official and departmental and other reports, forms, documents, commissions and other papers that the Queen's Printer is required to print and publish by the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. (3) Anything published under the superintendence of the Queen's Printer by authority of this or another Act shall be held to be printed by the Queen's Printer. Official notices 57. All proclamations issued by the Lieutenant-Governor or under the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and all official notices, orders-in-council, regulations, subordinate legislation, advertisements and documents relating to the province, or matters under the control of the House of Assembly and requiring publication, shall be published in the Gazette unless some other mode of publication is required by law. Regulations re Gazette 58. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, by regulation (a) prescribe the form, mode and times of publication of the Gazette; (b) designate the public bodies, officers and persons to whom the Gazette is to be sent without charge; and (c) establish the price of subscriptions to the Gazette and the charges to be paid for the publication of notices, advertisements and documents. PART VII Regulations 59. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations (a) necessary or desirable for the carrying out of the minister's powers, functions and duties under this Act; (b) providing for the management, maintenance, proper use and protection of highways, local roads, airports, ferry landings and real or personal property, of which the minister has the management and control; and (c) generally, to give effect to the purpose of this Act. (2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may, in regulations made under subsection (1), prescribe penalties for contravening those regulations. Identification card 60. (1) The minister may issue to a person who applies for one an identification card containing a photograph of the person. (2) A person who wishes to obtain an identification card shall apply providing the minister with proof of identification and of age and the other information which the minister may require and shall pay the fee set by the minister. (3) An identification card issued under this section shall be valid and shall be accepted for all purposes for which proof of identification is required under an Act or for another lawful purpose. (4) An identification card issued under this section shall expire on the date shown on the card. (5) A person who (a) alters, defaces or otherwise changes an identification card issued under this section; or (b) gives a false or fictitious name or gives a false address or other false or fictitious information in an application for an identification card issued under this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $90.00. (6) A driver's licence issued by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles under section 46 of the Highway Traffic Act which contains a photograph of the person to whom it was issued shall be valid and acceptable for all purposes for which an identification card issued under this section is valid and acceptable. (7) An identification card issued under this section is valid for all purposes for which an identification card issued under section 59 of the Liquor Control Act is valid. Entry on land 61. (1) The minister, after giving (a) to the owner of land, where the owner is known and available and can easily be contacted; or (b) to the occupier of occupied land, whether or not the occupier is the owner of the land, where the occupier lives on a part of the land or is known and available and can easily be contacted, reasonable notice, may authorize an engineer, agent, servant or worker employed by or under the minister to enter into and upon the land and survey the land and make those borings or sink those trial-pits and cut those trees that the minister considers necessary relative to the work under his or her control and where agreement cannot be reached between the minister and the party having ownership of the land as to compensation to be paid, the amount of compensation shall be ascertained in the manner provided by law for assessing the compensation payable where land is expropriated. (2) The minister shall, by his or her engineers, agents, servants or workers, (a) in doing anything authorized by subsection (1), exercise reasonable precautions to prevent fires; and (b) fill in, as soon as practicable, the borings and trial-pits referred to in subsection (1), so that the surface of the land is restored as nearly as reasonably possible to the condition existing before the borings were made or the trial-pits sunk. Prohibition 62. A person shall not (a) obstruct or interfere with an engineer, agent, servant or worker of the minister engaged in exercising on behalf of the minister power under this Part; or (b) interfere with an erection placed upon or work done on land under this Part. Offences 63. (1) A person who contravenes this Act or the regulations is guilty of an offence and is, where no penalty is specifically provided in this Act or the regulations, liable on summary conviction in the case of a first conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction for a similar offence to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in either case, in default of payment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months. (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), a conviction is not considered to be a second or subsequent conviction unless it is in respect of an offence committed within 12 months after a prior offence, and all convictions which are not second or subsequent convictions are considered first convictions. (3) Every continuance for a day or a part of a day of the contravention referred to in subsection (1) constitutes a separate offence. Consent to prosecution 64. A prosecution under this Act or the regulations shall not be taken except with the written consent of the minister. ©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer |