HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1  In this Act:

"CPR" means the Canadian Pacific Railway Company;

"current action" means Action No. S134003 in the Vancouver Registry of the Supreme Court;

"historic grant of railway land" means a grant or disposition of railway land by a historic railway company;

"historic railway company" means any of the following:

(a) the British Columbia Southern Railway Company;

(b) the Columbia and Kootenay Railway and Navigation Company;

(c) the Columbia and Western Railway Company;

"interest" includes a claim, estate, right or title;

"railway land" means any land

(a) that was granted by the government to a historic railway company, and

(b) that was, at the time of the grant referred to in paragraph (a), located in a district lot set out in Column 1 of the Schedule in the land district, or the division of the land district, set out opposite in Column 2;

"settlement agreement" means the settlement agreement between CPR and the government in relation to the current action;

"stone reservation" means a term or condition included in a historic grant of railway land that reserved or purported to reserve one or both of the following to the historic railway company:

(a) an interest in stone, including, without limitation, valuable or marketable stone, in, on or under the railway land;

(b) interests incidental to the interest referred to in paragraph (a), including, without limitation, interests respecting the following:

(i) ingress to and egress from the railway land;

(ii) the right, upon payment of compensation, to extract and carry away stone from the railway land;

(iii) the right to take and use the railway land to carry on operations incidental to the right referred to in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph;

"stone reservation interest" means an interest resulting from a stone reservation;

"timber reservation" means a term or condition included in a historic grant of railway land that reserved or purported to reserve one or both of the following to the historic railway company:

(a) an interest in wood, timber or trees on the railway land;

(b) interests incidental to the interest referred to in paragraph (a), including, without limitation, interests respecting the following:

(i) ingress to and egress from the railway land;

(ii) covenants of the grantee limiting the cutting of wood, timber or trees on the railway land;

"timber reservation interest" means an interest resulting from a timber reservation.

Extinguishment of stone reservation interests

2  (1) All stone reservation interests held by CPR are extinguished.

(2) A historic grant of railway land that includes a stone reservation in respect of which the stone reservation interest is extinguished under subsection (1) must be read as if the stone reservation had not been included in the historic grant of railway land.

(3) For certainty and without limiting subsection (2), that subsection applies for the purpose of determining the extent of an interest, if any, that a person holds in railway land after the extinguishment of a stone reservation interest under subsection (1).

Extinguishment of timber reservation interests

3  (1) All timber reservation interests held by CPR are extinguished.

(2) A historic grant of railway land that includes a timber reservation in respect of which the timber reservation interest is extinguished under subsection (1) must be read as if the timber reservation had not been included in the historic grant of railway land.

(3) For certainty and without limiting subsection (2), that subsection applies for the purpose of determining the extent of an interest, if any, that a person holds in railway land after the extinguishment of a timber reservation interest under subsection (1).

Land title records

4  (1) In this section:

"owner" has the same meaning as in the Land Title Act;

"registrar" has the same meaning as in the Land Title Act.

(2) Despite any enactment, if a stone reservation interest or timber reservation interest

(a) is extinguished under section 2 (1) or 3 (1), as applicable, and

(b) remains registered under the Land Title Act in favour of a historic railway company or CPR, or any other person, against a title to railway land,

the registrar, on application by a person who is an owner in respect of the railway land, may cancel the registration of the stone reservation interest or timber reservation interest.

(3) For certainty, the following take effect without any registration or cancellation of registration under the Land Title Act:

(a) the extinguishment of a stone reservation interest or timber reservation interest under section 2 (1) or 3 (1), as applicable;

(b) any change to the extent of an interest in railway land resulting from an extinguishment referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection.

Settlement and extinguishment of claims

5  (1) The payment of compensation by the government to CPR under the settlement agreement constitutes full and final settlement of all claims by CPR against any person, whether or not the person is named or described in the current action, in relation to any of the following matters:

(a) a matter that is raised or referred to in the current action;

(b) a matter that could have been raised or referred to in the current action;

(c) the enactment of this Act including, without limitation, the extinguishment of

(i) stone reservation interests under section 2 (1),

(ii) timber reservation interests under section 3 (1), and

(iii) claims by CPR under subsection (2) of this section.

(2) All claims by CPR against any person in relation to any matter referred to in subsection (1) are extinguished.

Validation

6  (1) In this section:

"effective date" means the date this section comes into force;

"resource instrument" means a title, grant, transfer, easement, disposition, lease, licence, permit, agreement or other instrument created or issued by, or entered into with, the government.

(2) Despite any enactment,

(a) every resource instrument that

(i) was created, issued or entered into before the effective date, and

(ii) would have been valid had stone reservations and timber reservations not been included in any historic grant of railway land

is confirmed and validated, effective on the date the resource instrument was created, issued or entered into, and

(b) the government is conclusively deemed, at the time a resource instrument referred to in paragraph (a) was created, issued or entered into, to have had the authority to create, issue or enter into the resource instrument.

(3) Despite any enactment, all things done, before the effective date, under a resource instrument or an enactment that would have been validly done

(a) had this section been in force on the day they were done, and

(b) had stone reservations and timber reservations not been included in any historic grant of railway land

are conclusively deemed to have been validly done.

Certain actions and proceedings prohibited

7  A person has no right of action and must not commence or maintain an action or other proceeding against the government for compensation or damages in relation to the enactment of this Act.

Enforcement of settlement agreement

8  For certainty, sections 5 (2) and 7 do not apply to a claim, action or proceeding by CPR or the government to enforce or determine a right or obligation under the settlement agreement.

Offence Act

9  Section 5 of the Offence Act does not apply to this Act.

Retroactive effect

10  This Act is retroactive to the extent necessary to give full force and effect to its provisions and must not be construed as lacking retroactive effect in relation to any matter because it makes no specific reference to that matter.

Regulations to amend Schedule

11  (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, do one or more of the following:

(a) prescribe additional railway lands by adding items to the Schedule;

(b) amend the district lot numbers set out in Column 1 of the Schedule;

(c) amend the land district names, or the division names of the land districts, set out in Column 2 of the Schedule.

(2) A regulation made under this section may be made retroactive to the date this section comes into force or a later date, and if made retroactive is deemed to have come into force on the specified date.

(3) This section is repealed 2 years after the date this section comes into force.

Consequential Amendment

Expropriation Act

12 Section 2 of the Expropriation Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 125, is amended by adding the following subsection:

(7) This Act does not apply in respect of the Canadian Pacific Railway (Stone and Timber) Settlement Act.

Commencement

13  This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Schedule

(Section 1)