Municipal mine-field

We were contacted by the leaseholder of Crown land that included ski trails and a drainage system that had previously been installed by his municipality. He told us these were contrary to his lease agreement with the Ministry of Mines, which required all activities on the property to be related to mining. He said the municipality had taken steps to remove most of the ski trails, but had stopped responding to his requests to resolve the drainage issue.

RESULT: After our Office made inquiries, including escalating the issue to the mayor, the municipality removed the remaining ski trails and erected signage to discourage public access to the property. The municipality also began working with the leaseholder to relocate the drainage system to an acceptable location.