Provincial Government

Sections 92 and 92A define the powers of the provincial governments under the Constitution Act, 1867.  None of the responsibilities listed directly give province’s authority over fish or fish habitat.

However, the provincial governments’ powers over “property and civil rights”, as well over “all matters of a merely local or private nature in the Province,” have been interpreted as giving the Province’s some jurisdiction over water and in-land fisheries.  In an effort to coordinate the use of their powers, the federal and provincial governments have entered into a series of federal-provincial agreements concerning fisheries issues.  Nonetheless, provincial laws and management must comply with federal fisheries laws.

In addition to their direct powers over aquatic habitats, the Provinces have powers over most resource exploitation and the use of private land, as well as other powers over actions that can impact negatively on aquatic habitat.  Thus the Provinces have the ability to prevent, regulate or authorize, some of the major sources of damage to aquatic habitat.

In addition, the government of British Columbia owns 95% of the land in the province (known as “Crown Land”), and, by virtue of the Water Act, all of the surface water flowing in the Province.  It is now increasingly recognized that these ownership rights are subject to unresolved claims by First Nations Peoples, but nonetheless, the Province’s role as property owner gives it additional powers and rights in respect of activities that might affect aquatic habitat, and in planning and management of public resources. 

Many of the significant environmental laws in British Columbia arise out of the Province’s ownership of the resource, and are aimed not at protecting the environment, but at granting the right to use various Crown resources.  Ensuring that these public resources are not damaged is an incidental factor in the legislation.  Major provincial statutes that would fall into this category include: Forest Act, Mineral Tenure Act, B.C. Fisheries Act and the Water Act.

Other major laws are more directly aimed at preventing damage to the environment: the B.C. Environmental Assessment Act, Forest Practices Code, Fish Protection Act and Waste Management Act. 

The Government of British Columbia has a number of Ministries that oversee environmental matters.  They include:

·                    Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection (WLAP) – WLAP is the Ministry responsible for environmental protection as that is ordinarily understood.

·                    Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM) – MSRM coordinates planning in all of the provincial government in a sustainable manner.  However, MSRM is also responsible for promoting economic opportunities on Crown Land, which some critics have pointed to as a conflict of interest. 

·                    Ministry of Forests (MoF) – MoF allocates forest resources and to private interests and oversees logging and ranching practices on public lands. 

·                    Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) – MEM oversees matters related to energy, mines, oil and gas and other related issues. 

·                    Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAFF) – MAFF is responsible both for agriculture and fisheries at the provincial level. 

Another important law created by the B.C. Government is the Local Government Act, which creates Local Governments – municipalities and regional districts.  In practice the Province is much more likely to leave regulating the development of private property to Local Governments.

For more information about the Government of British Columbia:

·                    Government of British Columbia web page.

·                    Legislature of British Columbia web page. 

·                    Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection web page.