WHEREAS Bill 44 to amend The Water Security Agency Act was introduced and given first reading to the Legislative Assembly in November, 2016, with plans for obtaining third reading and royal assent in the spring of 2017; and

WHEREAS Bill 44 was not referred to a committee with the option to conduct public hearings on its subject matter; and

WHEREAS Bill 44 is designed to help the Water Security Agency (WSA) bring all drainage into compliance over the next 10 years; and

WHEREAS Bill 44 will grant the WSA significantly more power including the ability to issue orders to close or alter any pre-1981 drainage works without compensation to the owner, eliminating the existing requirement to work through a formal complaint process before making an order, the power to enforce drainage orders by directly closing work, and increasing maximum fines for offenses under the Act up to $1 million per day for non-compliance; and

WHEREAS failure to comply to an order by the corporation, the corporation may register an “interest” based on the order against the title to or abstract record for the land on which the drainage works are located and that shall apply to any subsequent owner of the land; and

WHEREAS the appeal process is abolished under Bill 44 to deal with disputes;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Province on behalf of all rural municipalities to rescind Bill 44.

View the response from the Ministry of Environment