24 Act
binds Crown
HER MAJESTY, by and with
the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as
follows:
Interpretation
1(1) In this Act,
(a) “Court”
means the Court of Queen’s Bench;
(b) “Crown”
means the Crown in right of Alberta;
(c) “highway”
means a highway as defined in the Traffic
Safety Act;
(d) “inspector”
means a person appointed as an inspector, including an inspector by virtue of
office, under section 9;
(e) “land”
includes the land down to the low water mark of a stream, lake or other body of
water that is contiguous to or located on land;
(f) “livestock”
means cattle, sheep, domestic cervids within the meaning of the Livestock Industry Diversification Act,
goats and other captive ruminants, swine, horses and poultry;
(g) “local
authority” means
(i) the council of a city, town, village, summer village or municipal
district,
(ii) the Minister responsible for the Municipal Government Act, in the case of an improvement district,
or
(iii) the Minister responsible for the Special Areas Act, in the case of a special area;
(h) “Minister”
means the Minister determined under section 16 of the Government Organization Act as the Minister responsible for this
Act;
(i) “municipal
secretary” means
(i) in an improvement district, the Minister responsible for the Municipal Government Act or an officer
of that Minister’s Department designated by that Minister,
(ii) in a special area, the Minister responsible for the Special Areas Act or an officer of that
Minister’s Department designated by that Minister, or
(iii) in any other municipality, the designated officer who has the
duties of secretary and if there is no such designated officer, the chief
administrative officer;
(j) “nuisance”
means an animal, bird, insect, plant or disease declared to be a nuisance under
section 2;
(k) “occupant”
means a person occupying or exercising control or having the right to occupy or
exercise control over land or property;
(l) “owner”
means
(i) in the case of land, a person who is registered under the Land Titles Act as the owner of land, or
(ii) in the case of personal property, a person who is in lawful
possession of it or who has the right to exercise control over it;
(m) “pest”
means an animal, bird, insect, plant or disease declared to be a pest under
section 2;
(n) “property”
means personal property and includes vegetation, but does not include
livestock.
(2) A reference in this Act to a bylaw includes,
when appropriate, an order of the Minister responsible for the Municipal Government Act and of the
Minister responsible for the Special
Areas Act.
RSA 2000 cA‑8
s1;RSA 2000 cT‑6 s192;2003 c26 s19
Declaration of pest or
nuisance
2(1) Subject to subsection (2), if the Minister
considers that an animal, bird, insect, plant or disease is destroying or
harming or is likely to destroy or harm any land, livestock or property in all
or part of Alberta, the Minister may, by regulation, declare the animal, bird,
insect, plant or disease to be
(a) a
pest, or
(b) a
nuisance,
throughout Alberta or
in part of Alberta.
(2) In
subsection (1), “animal” and “bird” do not include
(a) big
game,
(b) a
bird of prey,
(c) a
game bird, or
(d) an
endangered animal,
as defined in the Wildlife
Act.
1984 cA‑8.1
s2;1984 cW‑9.1 s99;1989 c17 s1;1990 cL‑22.7 s38
Powers of Minister
3(1) The Minister may
(a) investigate
any matter,
(b) conduct
surveys,
(c) establish
programs, or
(d) enter
into agreements with any person, local authority, agency or government,
for the purpose of
preventing the establishment of, controlling or destroying a pest or nuisance
and preventing or reducing damage caused by a pest or nuisance.
(2) The Minister may exempt any land from the
operation of all or part of this Act.
1984 cA‑8.1 s3
Delegation of Minister’s powers
4(1) The Minister may in writing delegate to
(a) an
employee of the Government of Alberta,
(b) an
employee of the Government of Canada,
(c) a
local authority, or
(d) a
member of a local authority
a power, duty or
function conferred on the Minister by this Act and the regulations, except the
power to make regulations.
(2) A power, duty or function delegated to a local
authority or a member of a local authority may be exercised or performed only
within the municipality represented by the local authority.
1984 cA‑8.1 s4
Duty of individual
5(1) An owner or occupant of land may prevent the
establishment of, control or destroy a nuisance on land the owner owns or
occupier occupies.
(2) An
owner or occupant of land or property or the owner or person in control of
livestock shall take active measures to
(a) prevent
the establishment of pests on or in the land, property or livestock unless
otherwise authorized by the Minister,
(b) control
or destroy all pests on or in the land, property or livestock unless otherwise
authorized by the Minister, and
(c) destroy any crop, vegetation or other matter
that contributes or may contribute to the maintenance or spread of a pest on or
in the land, property or livestock.
1984 cA‑8.1 s5
Duty of local authority
6 A local authority of a municipality shall
take active measures
(a) to
prevent the establishment of, or
(b) to
control or destroy,
pests in the municipality.
1984 cA‑8.1 s6
Occupant of a highway
7 A local authority may, with respect to a highway
that is subject to the direction, management and control of the local
authority, by bylaw provide that an owner or occupant of land is, for the
purposes of this Act, the occupant of that portion of a highway that lies
between the boundary of the land the owner owns or occupier occupies and the
centre line of the highway.
1984 cA‑8.1 s7
Applicable Acts
8 A person or local authority preventing the
establishment of, controlling or destroying a pest or nuisance shall do so in
accordance with
(a) this
Act and the regulations,
(b) if
applicable, the Wildlife Act and the
regulations under it, and
(c) if applicable, the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and the regulations
under it.
1984 cA-8.1 s8;1992
cE-13.3 s246(1);1996 c33 s75
Inspectors
9(1) Inspectors may be appointed by a local
authority or by the Minister to carry out this Act and the regulations.
(2) An agricultural fieldman under the Agricultural Service Board Act is by
virtue of that office an inspector under this Act.
1984 cA‑8.1 s9
Appointment of
inspectors by local authority
10(1) The local authority of a municipality shall
appoint a sufficient number of inspectors to carry out this Act and the
regulations within the municipality.
(2) Two
or more local authorities may
(a) jointly
appoint inspectors to act within the municipalities represented by the local
authorities, and
(b) enter into an agreement for the sharing of
the costs of the inspectors appointed jointly.
1984 cA‑8.1 s10
Failure to appoint
inspectors or properly enforce Act
11(1) The Minister may, if
(a) a
local authority does not appoint an inspector, or
(b) in
the opinion of the Minister, an inspector appointed by a local authority is not
properly enforcing this Act,
after serving notice
on the local authority, cause inspectors appointed by the Minister to carry out
this Act and the regulations in a municipality.
(2) If
an inspector appointed by the Minister is requested to carry out this Act and
the regulations in a municipality
(a) pursuant
to subsection (1)(a), the inspector appointed by the Minister shall continue to
act until the local authority appoints an inspector in accordance with section
10(1), or
(b) pursuant
to subsection (1)(b), the appointment by the local authority terminates and
that local authority shall not make further appointments until the Minister
serves notice on the local authority that the inspector appointed by the
Minister is no longer acting.
(3) Salary
paid and expenses incurred by the Crown under this section
(a) shall
be paid by the local authority on demand,
(b) are
recoverable by the Minister as if they were a debt due the Crown, and
(c) may be recovered by the Minister by action
or by withholding the amount of the salary and expenses from a grant, rent or
other money that would otherwise be payable by the Crown to the local
authority.
1984 cA‑8.1 s11
Notice
12(1) When an inspector is of the opinion that land,
property or livestock contains or is likely to contain a pest or should be
protected against a pest, the inspector
may issue a notice in writing directed to the owner or occupant of the land or
property or to the owner or person in control of the livestock
(a) setting
out the legal description of the land affected or a description of the
livestock affected and the legal description of the land on which the livestock
are located,
(b) naming
the pest,
(c) specifying
the measures to be taken and the material, if any, to be used to prevent the
establishment of or to control or destroy the pest, and
(d) requiring
the measures described in clause (c) to be taken within a specified period of
time.
(2) If
a notice is directed to a person other than the owner of land, property or
livestock under subsection (1), the inspector shall also serve a copy of the
notice on the owner.
(3) A
notice issued under subsection (1) and a copy of the notice shall be in a form
prescribed by the regulations and shall be served
(a) by
delivering it personally to the person who is intended to be served,
(b) by
leaving it with a person apparently over the age of 18 years at the dwelling
place or place of business of the person who is intended to be served, or
(c) by
sending it by double registered mail or certified mail to the last known
address of the person who is intended to be served as shown on the assessment
roll of the municipality within which the land, property or livestock to which
it relates is located.
(4) If, in the opinion of the inspector, service
under subsection (3) cannot reasonably
be effected, the inspector may post the notice or copy of the notice in a
conspicuous place on the land, property or livestock to which it relates, or on
the private dwelling house of the person who is intended to be served.
1984 cA‑8.1 s12
Compliance with notice
13(1) A person to whom a notice is directed under
section 12(1) or a person on whom a copy of the notice is served under section
12(2) shall, subject to a right of appeal given by this Act, carry out the
directions contained in the notice.
(2) If
(a) a
person fails to comply with a notice issued under section 12 and the appeal
period has expired,
(b) an
inspector finds a pest on land, property or livestock in respect of which the
inspector is not reasonably able to discover the owner, occupant or person in
control, as the case may be, and determines that it is not practical to issue a
notice under section 12, or
(c) an
inspector finds a pest on land, property or livestock that requires immediate
measures to be taken in order to prevent its establishment or to control or
destroy it,
the inspector may carry out the measures described in the
notice or do any things necessary in the inspector’s opinion and consistent
with good agricultural practice to prevent the establishment of or to control
or destroy the pest.
1984 cA‑8.1 s13
Appeal to local
authority
14(1) A person who
(a) has
an interest in land as an owner or occupant, or
(b) has
an interest in livestock as an owner or person in control of livestock
and feels personally
aggrieved by a notice issued by an inspector under section 12 may appeal to the
local authority of the municipality within which the land or livestock is
located by filing a notice of appeal under this section.
(2) A
notice of appeal shall be in writing and shall set out
(a) the
name and address of the appellant,
(b) a
copy of the notice in respect of which the appeal is being taken,
(c) the
legal description of the land affected or a description of the livestock
affected and the legal description of the land on which the livestock were
located, and
(d) the
grounds for appeal.
(3) A
notice of appeal shall be served on the municipal secretary
(a) by
any of the methods set out in section 12(3), and
(b) within
the time specified in the notice issued under section 12 for taking any
measure, or within 10 days after service of the notice, whichever is less.
(4) A
notice of appeal shall be accompanied with a deposit in an amount set out in
the regulations which shall be refunded if the appellant is successful in the
appellant’s appeal under this section or in a review under section 15.
(5) A
local authority shall at the beginning of each calendar year appoint a
committee to hear and determine appeals under this section and on receipt of a
notice of appeal a local authority shall refer the appeal to that committee.
(6) Within
5 days after receipt of a notice of appeal, the committee shall hear and
determine the appeal and the committee may confirm, rescind or vary the notice
that was issued.
(7) The municipal secretary shall, on determination
of the appeal, send a copy of the decision together with the written reasons,
if any, by double registered mail or certified mail to the appellant.
1984 cA‑8.1 s14
Review by Minister
15(1) An appellant who is dissatisfied with the
decision of a committee under section 14 may, within 3 days after the appellant
receives a copy of the decision, request a review of the decision or a part of
it by the Minister.
(2) The Minister may confirm, rescind or vary the
decision of the committee.
1984 cA‑8.1 s15
Notice stayed pending
appeal
16 If a notice of appeal is served under section
14(3), the notice referred to in that section is stayed until
(a) the
appeal under that section is disposed of, or
(b) a review under section 15 is conducted or
the time for requesting the review under section 15 has expired without a
review being requested.
1984 cA‑8.1 s16
Powers of inspector
17(1) In this section, “land” does not include a
private dwelling house.
(2) An
inspector may, for the purpose of carrying out the inspector’s duties,
(a) enter
at any reasonable hour on any land to inspect the land or any buildings,
property or livestock on the land,
(b) on
giving reasonable notice, direct the owner or person in control of livestock to
assemble and confine the livestock for the purpose of an inspection, and
(c) take
specimens of a pest or nuisance and of any matter or thing that contains or is
suspected of containing a pest or nuisance.
(3) An inspector shall carry the identification
supplied to the inspector by the local authority or Minister appointing the
inspector and shall show it on request to a person owning or in charge of
anything affected by the inspector’s activities under this Act or the
regulations.
1984 cA‑8.1 s17
Warrant to enter private
dwelling house
18(1) If it appears to a provincial judge or a
justice of the peace, on information laid before the provincial judge or
justice of the peace on oath, that there are reasonable and probable grounds
for believing that a private dwelling house within the jurisdiction of the
provincial judge or justice of the peace contains a pest or nuisance, the
provincial judge or justice of the peace may issue a warrant authorizing a
peace officer, with or without an inspector, to enter the private dwelling
house, by force if necessary, for the purpose of searching for the pest or
nuisance.
(2) Before
entering a private dwelling house pursuant to this section, a peace officer
shall take reasonable steps to find the owner or person in charge of it and
shall endeavour to obtain the co‑operation of that person.
(3) When a peace officer uses force in entering or
searching a private dwelling house, the peace officer shall use no more force
than is reasonably required under the circumstances.
1984 cA‑8.1 s18
Recovery of inspector’s expenses
19(1) If expenses are incurred by an inspector
pursuant to section 13(2), the municipal secretary of the municipality in which
the expenses were incurred shall serve a statement of the expenses and a demand
for payment on the owner of the land, property or livestock in respect of which
the work was carried out.
(2) The
statement of expenses and demand for payment shall be served by any of the
methods set out in section 12(3).
(3) In
the case of expenses incurred for work carried out to land, if the owner fails
to pay the amount set out in the statement of expenses and to file a notice of
dispute under subsection (4) within 30 days after receiving the statement of
expenses and demand for payment, the municipal secretary shall add the amount
of those expenses to the tax roll as a tax against the land to which the work
was carried out and it shall be collected in the same manner as taxes.
(4) If
the owner files with the municipal secretary a notice of dispute denying
liability or disputing the amount of the expenses, the local authority is
limited to recovering the expenses referred to in subsection (3) by an action
against that owner.
(5) In the case of expenses incurred for work
carried out to property or livestock, if the owner fails to pay the amount set
out in the statement of expenses within 30 days after receiving the statement
of expenses and demand for payment, the local authority is limited to
recovering those expenses by an action against the owner of the property or
livestock.
1984 cA‑8.1
s19;1994 cM‑26.1 s642(1)
Stop order
20(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, if the
Minister is satisfied that a person
(a) has
contravened or is contravening this Act or the regulations, or
(b) owns
or operates anything that causes the maintenance or spread of a pest
the Minister may
direct a stop order to that person in accordance with subsection (2).
(2) In
a stop order, the Minister may order the person to whom it is directed to
(a) cease
the contravention specified in the order,
(b) stop
the operation of a plant, structure, equipment or thing specified in the order,
either permanently or for a specified period, or
(c) cease
the contravention under clause (a) and stop the operation under clause (b),
and the stop order
shall contain the Minister’s reasons for making it.
(3) The
Minister shall cause a copy of the stop order to be served on the person to
whom it is directed, and that person, on receipt of the copy, shall comply with
the stop order forthwith.
(4) A
person who is served with the stop order under subsection (3) and fails to
comply with the stop order forthwith is guilty of an offence and liable to a
fine of not more than $1000 for each day that the offence continues.
(5) If
the person to whom a stop order is directed fails to comply with the stop order
forthwith on service of a copy of it on the person, the Minister may apply to
the Court by originating notice for an order directing that person to comply
with the stop order.
(6) If
the person to whom the stop order is directed fails to comply with the Court
order,
(a) the
failure to comply with the stop order may be dealt with by the Court as a civil
contempt of the Court,
(b) an
inspector authorized by the Minister for the purpose and persons assisting the
inspector may, without notice and without incurring liability, enter on any
land and do any acts necessary to carry out the stop order,
(c) a
civil enforcement bailiff may assist the inspector and the inspector’s
assistants in enforcing their powers and duties under clause (b), and
(d) the
Minister may recover by action any expenses incurred by the Crown in carrying
out the stop order from the person to whom the stop order was directed.
(7) The
Minister may
(a) amend
a stop order if the Minister considers it advisable in the circumstances to do
so, or
(b) revoke
a stop order
and shall notify
accordingly the person to whom the stop order was directed.
(8) Service of the stop order, Court order and
notification under subsection (7) shall be effected by any of the methods set
out in section 12(3).
1984 cA‑8.1
s20;1994 cC‑10.5 s110
Regulations
21 The Minister may make regulations
(a) respecting
qualifications of inspectors;
(b) respecting
the content and use of forms;
(c) respecting
the issuance of permits authorizing the keeping of any pest or nuisance and
prescribing the conditions on which it may be kept;
(d) permitting,
prohibiting and otherwise governing the planting, growing, handling, sale,
transportation and disposition of potatoes in all or any part of Alberta;
(e) authorizing
an inspector to order the disposition or destruction of potatoes or other
matter or to do any other thing to prevent the spread or to control bacterial
ring rot;
(f) concerning
the manner in which potatoes that contain or may contain bacterial ring rot are
to be handled, transported and disposed of, including the manner of packaging
and labelling;
(g) concerning
the sterilization of any machinery, equipment and storehouse employed in the
production, storage or distribution of potatoes;
(h) authorizing
an inspector to inspect potatoes at any point in Alberta or while the potatoes
are being transported to determine whether they contain bacterial ring rot;
(i) establishing
areas in Alberta to which all or part of the regulations apply;
(j) prohibiting
and restricting the removal from any area or the movement in an area of any
crop, vegetation, livestock, animal or other matter;
(k) prohibiting
or restricting the use of and governing the disposition or destruction of any
crop, vegetation, livestock, animal or other matter that may contribute to the
spread of a pest or nuisance;
(l) concerning
the procedure to be followed in an area for controlling, destroying or
preventing the establishment of a pest or nuisance;
(m) naming,
approving, distributing or arranging for or approving the distribution of any
equipment, vehicle or device for or incidental to the control of a pest or
nuisance, with or without conditions;
(n) designating
the area or areas in Alberta within which any poison, insecticide, compound,
device or equipment may be used for the purposes of this Act and the
regulations;
(o) appointing
persons to supervise the use of any poison, insecticide, compound, device or
equipment for the purposes of this Act and the regulations;
(p) defining
and classifying any poison, insecticide, compound, device and equipment for the
purposes of this Act and the regulations;
(q) governing, prohibiting or restricting the
use of any poison, insecticide, compound, device, vehicle, control technique or
equipment for the purposes of this Act and the regulations.
1984 cA‑8.1
s21;1989 c17 s1
Prohibitions
22 No person shall
(a) in
any manner obstruct an inspector in the discharge of the inspector’s duties,
(b) wilfully
fail to use or wilfully misuse any poison, insecticide, compound, device or
equipment, or
(c) for propagation purposes acquire, sell,
distribute or use any seed, root, tuber or other vegetable material containing
a pest.
1984 cA‑8.1 s22
Offences and penalties
23 A person who contravenes this Act or the
regulations is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not more than $5000
and in default of payment to a term of imprisonment of not more than 60 days.
1984 cA‑8.1 s23
Act binds Crown
24 The Crown is bound by this Act.
1984 cA‑8.1 s24
