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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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Revised Statutes of Newfoundland 1990


CHAPTER D-17

AN ACT RESPECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF MINES AND ENERGY

Analysis

1. Short title

2. Definitions

3. Department constituted

4. Staff

5. Seal

6. Powers and duties of minister

7. Surveys

8. Sale of maps

9. Consultation and conferences

10. Agreements with governments

11. Agreements generally

12. Agreements amended

13. Prior approval for agreements

14. Implementation of agreements

15. Other departments

16. Boards, committees, etc.

17. Minister's power over boards

18. Regulations

19. Documents

20. Accounts

21. Security

22. Actions

23. Certified copies of documents

24. Property

25. Entry on land

26. Prohibition

27. Payments

28. Offences

29. Consent to prosecution

Schedule


Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Department of Mines and Energy Act.

1989 c23 s1

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Definitions

2. In this Act

(a) "department" means the Department of Mines and Energy constituted by this Act;

(b) "deputy minister" means the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy appointed under this Act; and

(c) "minister" means the Minister of Mines and Energy referred to in section 3.

1989 c23 s2

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Department constituted

3. (1) There shall be a department of the government called the Department of Mines and Energy over which the Minister of Mines and Energy appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor by commission under the Great Seal of the province shall preside.

(2) The minister has the management and direction of the department and holds office during pleasure.

1989 c23 s3

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Staff

4. (1) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may appoint an officer called the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy.

(2) The deputy minister shall be the deputy head of the department and shall hold office during pleasure.

(3) Those other officers and employees that are necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the department shall be appointed or employed in the manner authorized by law, but the minister may temporarily employ those technical and other assistants that the minister considers necessary.

(4) Where there is no deputy minister or the deputy minister is absent, and unless otherwise provided by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, an officer named by the minister has the powers and shall perform the duties of the deputy minister.

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Seal

5. (1) The department shall have a seal which shall be officially and judicially noticed.

(2) Where the official seal of the department is used, it shall be authenticated by the signature of the minister or by the signature of the deputy minister, or, where there is no deputy minister or the deputy minister is absent, by the signature of the person who, under subsection 4(4), has the powers of the deputy minister.

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Powers and duties of minister

6. The powers, functions and duties of the minister extend to and include

(a) the supervision, control and direction of all matters relating to

(i) mines, minerals, coal, salt, quarries, quarry materials and beaches,

(ii) oil and natural gas,

(iii) royalties and associated matters, within or outside the province,

(iv) energy, including electrical power, howsoever generated, and

(v) the administration, subject to the Public Service Rearrangements and Transfers of Duties Act, of the Acts set out in the Schedule and of all orders and regulations passed or made under those Acts and of those other Acts, orders and regulations that are designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council,

which are not, or in so far as they are not, by law or by order of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, assigned to another minister or department of the government;

(b) liaison and co-operation with

(i) the Government of Canada or a department, agency or body under the jurisdiction of that government,

(ii) the government of a province or a department, agency or body under the jurisdiction of the government of a province or under the jurisdiction of the government of this province, or

(iii) a corporation or other body or person

that may be necessary or desirable for carrying out the purpose of this Act;

(c) the undertaking, promotion or recommendation of measures for the development, control and direction of matters referred to in paragraph (a);

(d) the collection, compilation, analyzing and recording of statistical and other information relating to matters referred to in paragraph (a);

(e) the preparation and publication of statistics, reports, records, bulletins, pamphlets, circulars and other means of disseminating information in relation to matters referred to in paragraph (a);

(f) the study of, reporting on and advising upon the administration of matters referred to in paragraph (a);

(g) the consideration of and reporting upon a recommendation for a change in the laws of the province relating to matters referred to in paragraph (a) that is presented or made by an organization or person;

(h) the making of inquiries into and reports upon legislation respecting matters referred to in paragraph (a) in force in Canada and throughout the world and, on the basis of those inquiries and reports, making those recommendations that may be advisable with regard to the laws of the province;

(i) the doing of other things or the exercise of other powers that are necessary or desirable for carrying out the purpose of this Act; and

(j) the exercise and discharge of other powers, functions and duties that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council assigns to the minister.

1989 c23 s6; 1990 c23 s6

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Surveys

7. The minister may, for the purpose of obtaining a basis for the representation of the natural resources and of the geographical and geological features of a part of the province or of the water adjacent to a part of the province, direct measurements, observations, investigations and physiographic, exploratory and reconnaissance surveys to be made that are necessary for or in connection with the preparation of reports, statistics, maps, sketches, plans, sections or diagrams, but the minister shall coordinate those surveys with pertinent surveys undertaken by another department of the government.

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Sale of maps

8. The minister may authorize the distribution or sale of publications, maps and other documents issued by the department and may authorize distribution of duplicate specimens to scientific, literary and educational institutions in Canada or elsewhere.

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Consultation and conferences

9. In exercising the minister's powers or carrying out the minister's duties and functions under this Act, the minister may consult with and inaugurate conferences of representatives of those bodies or persons that the minister considers advisable.

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Agreements with governments

10. (1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the minister may enter into agreements with the Government of Canada or of a province of Canada or an agency of the Government of Canada or of the government of a province providing for

(a) the joint undertaking by the government of the province or an agency of the government with those governments, or an agency of those governments, of projects relating to an aspect of the powers, functions or duties of the minister; and

(b) the payment by or to the province of contributions in respect of the cost of projects referred to in paragraph (a).

(2) The minister may, for the purpose of this Act, and subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, prepare and undertake, alone or with Canada or with a province of Canada, programs of research and investigation, and may coordinate those programs with other similar programs being undertaken in the province or elsewhere in Canada.

1989 c23 s10

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Agreements generally

11. (1) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the minister may enter into an agreement for the purpose of exercising or discharging the minister's powers, functions or duties.

(2) Where a document is inspected, examined, obtained or provided under or in accordance with an agreement entered into under subsection (1), the person by whom it is inspected, obtained or examined or to whom it is provided or a person authorized by the minister may make 1 or more copies of it and a document purporting to be certified by the person by whom it is inspected, obtained or examined or to whom it was provided or by a person authorized by the minister to be a copy is evidence of the nature and content of the original document and has the same probative force as the original document would have if it had been proven in the ordinary way.

(3) After a document has been certified under this section it shall be returned to the person from whom it was received.

1989 c23 s11; 1990 c23 s7

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Agreements amended

12. Power to enter into an agreement shall include power to amend that agreement but, where the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council to the original agreement is required, that approval is also required for an amending agreement.

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Prior approval for agreements

13. (1) Notwithstanding that the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is required for an agreement under section 10 or 11, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may approve terms, conditions and monetary limits subject to which the minister may, without prior approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, enter into agreements under section 10 or 11.

(2) Subject to the terms, conditions and monetary limits approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council under subsection (1), the minister may enter into an agreement without approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(3) Where the minister enters into an agreement under subsection (2), the minister may enter into an amending agreement, subject to those same terms, conditions and limits.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), where an amendment to an agreement would result in the agreement, as amended, exceeding or violating the terms, conditions and monetary limits, the minister shall not enter into the amending agreement without first obtaining the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

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Implementation of agreements

14. The minister may implement an agreement made under this Act.

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Other departments

15. In carrying out a project or research program under this Act or under an agreement made under this Act, the minister shall, where possible, make use of the services and facilities of other departments of the government.

1989 c23 s15

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Boards, committees, etc.

16. The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may establish boards, committees and councils to assist and advise the minister in administering this Act and appoint the members of those boards, committees and councils.

1989 c23 s16

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Minister's power over boards

17. The rights, duties, powers, liabilities and functions of the minister extend and apply to those boards and other public bodies, officials, subjects, services and properties of the Crown that the Lieutenant-Governor in Council designates and assigns to the minister and over which the minister is given the control, regulation, management and supervision.

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Regulations

18. (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 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.

1989 c23 s18

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Documents

19. (1) An agreement, deed or other writing made or executed under this Act shall not bind the government or the minister or be held to be the act of the government or the minister unless it is signed by the minister or the deputy minister or 1 of the persons designated under subsection 4(4) to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the deputy minister in the circumstances specified.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to transactions in the ordinary course of administering the affairs of the department under this Act.

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Accounts

20. The minister, the deputy minister or an officer named by the minister under subsection 4(4) may require an account furnished by a person, whether in the employ of the department or not, to be attested on oath or affirmation, which oath or affirmation may be administered by the minister, the deputy minister or an officer referred to in subsection 4(4).

1989 c23 s20

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Security

21. The minister, the deputy minister or an officer named by the minister under subsection 4(4) shall have power to require and take security by way of bond or deposit of money for the performance of work in accordance with an agreement entered into with the minister or the department or an employee of the department.

1989 c23 s21

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Actions

22. Unless otherwise provided by law, all actions, suits and other proceedings taken by the minister or the department for the enforcement of an agreement or for the recovery of damages in tort or arising out of contract or for the trial of a right in respect of real or other property under the control of the minister shall be instituted in the name of the Attorney General.

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Certified copies of documents

23. A copy of a map, plan or other document in the custody of the department, certified by the deputy minister to be a true copy, is considered to be authentic and is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, evidence of the same legal effect as the original for the purpose of a proceeding in a court or for another purpose.

1989 c23 s23

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Property

24. (1) The minister, for and in the name of the Crown, may acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise and hold, manage and control real or personal property which the minister considers necessary for the purpose of this Act.

(2) The minister may

(a) sell; or

(b) lease, rent, hire or otherwise dispose of for a period and subject to those terms and conditions that the minister may stipulate,

property of which the minister has the management and control.

(3) All money received by the minister in the exercise of the powers conferred on the minister by subsection (2) shall be paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

(4) Where the Crown acquires or disposes of property through the minister, the minister or the deputy minister may execute all deeds and documents on behalf of the Crown with his or her signature and official title and with the seal of the department.

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Entry on land

25. (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 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 and 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), as nearly as reasonably possible to the conditions existing before the borings were made and the trial-pits were sunk.

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Prohibition

26. 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 Act; or

(b) interfere with an erection placed upon or work done on land under this Act.

1989 c23 s26

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Payments

27. Payments required to be made by or on behalf of the Crown under an agreement entered into under this Act or in carrying out this Act or the regulations shall be paid by the Minister of Finance, on the request of the minister, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

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Offences

28. (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 1st conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 and in the case of a 2nd 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 2nd 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 2nd or subsequent convictions are considered 1st convictions.

(3) A continuance for a day or part of a day of the contravention referred to in subsection (1) constitutes a separate offence.

1989 c23 s28

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Consent to prosecution

29. A prosecution under this Act or the regulations shall not be taken except with the written consent of the minister.

1989 c23 s29

 

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Schedule

1. Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act

2. Electrical Power Control Act

3. Hydro Act

4. Industrial Development Incentives Act

5. Lower Churchill Development Act

6. Mineral Act

7. Mines Act

8. Miscellaneous Financial Provisions Act

9. Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission Water Power Act

10. Ore-Treatment Tailings Labrador Disposal Act

11. Petroleum Corporation Act

12. Petroleum and Natural Gas Act

13. Quarry Materials Act

14. Rural Electrification Act

15. Undeveloped Mineral Areas Act

16. An Act Respecting Certain Mineral Lands, 1904 chapter 11

1989 c23 Sch

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