The Mineral Contracts Re-negotiation Act, 1959 UNEDITED being Chapter 102 of the Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1959 (Assented to April 14, 1959). NOTE: This consolidation is not official. Amendments have been incorporated for convenience of reference and the original statutes and regulations should be consulted for all purposes of interpretation and application of the law. In order to preserve the integrity of the original statutes and regulations, errors that may have appeared are reproduced in this consolidation.
Table of Contents 1 Short title 2 Interpretation 3 Appointment of board 4 Appointment of counsel and secretary 5 Appointment of other employees 6 Remuneration and expenses payable out of legislative appropriation 7 Grantor of mineral rights may apply for a renegotiation of mineral contract 8 Preliminary inquiries by board 9 Procedure respecting re-negotiation of contracts 10 Power of board where relief cannot be arranged by mutual agreement 11 Stay of proceedings in certain actions 12 Authority of one member to act and report 13 Use of court house, etc. 14 Calculation of time for purposes of Limitation of Actions Act 15 Non-liability of board, employees, etc. 16 Rules respecting procedure 17 Regulations and orders 18 Annual report by board
CHAPTER 102 An Act to facilitate the Re-negotiation of Certain Contracts respecting Mineral Rights [Assented to April 14, 1959] Preamble WHEREAS by an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council numbered 915/57 and dated April 30, 1957, made under The Public Inquiries Act, a commission, styled The Royal Commission on Certain Mineral Transactions, was appointed for the purpose of making inquiry into certain allegations to the effect that many owners of freehold mineral rights in Saskatchewan had been deprived of such rights by means of fraud or misrepresentation; and Whereas the said commission has completed its inquiry and by a report dated December 16, 1958, has recommended that a board be constituted for the purpose of achieving, if possible, the voluntary re-negotiation of certain contracts whereby the owners of freehold mineral rights in Saskatchewan were deprived of such rights through misrepresentation, whether innocent or fraudulent; and Whereas it is deemed expedient to implement the recommendations of the said commission, and to provide as hereinafter set forth: Therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, enacts as follows: Short title 1 This Act may be cited as The Mineral Contracts Re-negotiation Act, 1959. Interpretation 2 In this Act: 1959, c.102, s.1. board 1 board means The Mineral Contracts Re-negotiation Board appointed under this Act; grantor of mineral rights 2 grantor of mineral rights means a person who, as owner of freehold mineral rights of any kind in Saskatchewan, entered into a mineral contract whereby he leased, assigned, transferred or conveyed the rights in whole or in part to another person, and includes his heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives; mineral contract 3 mineral contract means: (a) any document executed during the period from the first day of January, 1949, to the thirty-first day of December, 1958, whereby an interest in minerals or royalties in Saskatchewan was acquired by Prudential Trust Company, Limited or by any person acting or purporting to act on behalf of or in the name of Prudential Trust Company, Limited; (b) any document, executed during the said period, that relates to an interest in minerals or royalties in Saskatchewan and that was: (i) negotiated or concluded by any person for whom Prudential Trust Company, Limited was acting as agent or trustee; or
4 c. 102 MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION (ii) negotiated or concluded by any other person acting on behalf of or in the name of a person to whom subclause (i) applies; or (iii) negotiated or concluded by any person acting on behalf of or in the name of an assignee of or successor in interest to Prudential Trust Company, Limited; or (c) a document of any other type or class designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council whereby interests in petroleum, natural gas or related hydrocarbons in Saskatchewan or royalty rights in respect thereof have been leased, assigned, transferred or conveyed to any person; owner of freehold mineral rights 4 owner of freehold mineral rights means a person who is registered, or entitled at law or in equity to be or become registered, in a land titles office as the owner of the mines and minerals or of specified mines and minerals within, upon or under any land. 1959, c.102, s.2. Appointment of board 3(1) There shall be a board, to be styled The Mineral Contracts Re-negotiation Board, to be composed of three members to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, with the powers and duties herein specified. (2) Each member shall hold office during the pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. (3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall: (a) designate one of the members as chairman; (b) designate another of the members as acting chairman in the absence of the chairman; (c) specify what number of members shall constitute a quorum; (d) fix the remuneration of the members. (4) The chairman or, in his absence, the acting chairman may sign all documents on behalf of the board. When signed by the acting chairman such documents shall have the like effect as if signed by the chairman, and where it appears that the acting chairman has acted in the place of the chairman it shall be conclusively presumed that he has so acted in the absence of the chairman. 1959, c.102, s.3. Appointment of counsel and secretary 4 The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall also appoint legal counsel and a secretary to the board and fix their respective powers, duties and remuneration. 1959, c.102, s.4. Appointment of other employees 5 The staff of the board shall consist of such other employees as are deemed necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the board, and the salaries of all such employees shall be determined by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. 1959, c.102, s.5.
MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION c. 102 5 Remuneration and expenses payable out of legislative appropriation 6 The remuneration and salaries to be paid to members of the board, legal counsel, the secretary and other employees and other expenses incurred in the administration of this Act, shall be chargeable to and payable out of moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose. 1959, c.102, s.6. Grantor of mineral rights may apply for a re-negotiation of mineral contract 7(1) Any grantor of mineral rights who alleges that he was induced to enter into a mineral contract through misrepresentation on the part of another person contract as to the purpose or effect of the mineral contract, or that the contract was unconscionable, may, at any time not later than the thirtieth day of June, 1960, make application in writing to the board for a re-negotiation of the mineral contract. (2) The board may, by order published in The Saskatchewan Gazette: (a) prescribe forms to be used in respect of applications under subsection (1); (b) designate the material, information and documents that shall accompany each application; (c) fix such conditions precedent to an application under subsection (1) to be observed or complied with by each applicant as it considers expedient. 1959, c.102, s.7. Preliminary inquiries by board 8(1) The board, upon receiving an application under section 7, shall make such preliminary inquiries with respect thereto as it deems necessary for the purpose of determining: (a) whether the facts and circumstances surrounding the entering into of the mineral contract tend to support the applicant s allegation that he was induced to enter into the contract through misrepresentation on the part of another person as to the purpose or effect of the contract; or (b) whether the contract appears to constitute an unconscionable bargain in so far as the applicant is concerned. (2) If, as a result of its preliminary inquiries, the board is reasonably satisfied that the applicant can produce prima facie evidence that he was induced to enter into the contract through misrepresentation on the part of another person as to the purpose or effect of the contract, or that the mineral contract appears to constitute an unconscionable bargain in so far as the applicant is concerned, the board shall endeavour to renegotiate the mineral contract as hereinafter provided. If not so satisfied the board shall, as soon as conveniently possible, notify the applicant that it does not intend to take any further action in his interests. (3) The decision of the board not to endeavour to re-negotiate the mineral contract shall not preclude the applicant from pursuing, nor prejudice him in the pursuit of, any other remedy he may have at law in respect of the mineral contract. 1959, c.102, s.8.
6 c. 102 MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION Procedure respecting re-negotiation of contracts 9(1) Where the board decides to endeavour to re-negotiate a mineral contract it shall do so in the first instance by means of private communication or consul tation with the several parties concerned. (2) The board may examine and investigate all transactions, negotiations and matters in connection with or touching upon any document whereby interests in petroleum, natural gas or related hydrocarbons in Saskatchewan or royalty rights in respect thereof have been leased, assigned, transferred or conveyed to any person. (3) The board may classify mineral contracts in any manner it deems expedient and may negotiate with any person or persons concerned with a view to establishing a fair and equitable basis for the re-negotiation of such contracts or any class thereof. (4) Where its efforts to re-negotiate a mineral contract fail by reason of the refusal of the grantee or his successor in interest to agree voluntarily to a renegotiation, the board may: (a) conduct a public hearing with respect to the circumstances surrounding the entering into of the contract and with respect to the effect of the contract; (b) summon and examine on oath any person whose evidence it desires to obtain with respect to the contract; (c) require the production of such documents as it deems requisite to the full investigation of the matter. (5) At a public hearing under subsection (4) or a preliminary inquiry under section 8 the board shall have the same power to enforce the attendance of witnesses and to compel them to give evidence as is vested in any court of record in civil cases. (6) At a public hearing under subsection (4) any of the parties concerned may be represented by counsel who shall have the right to examine or cross-examine the witnesses called. (7) If the grantor of the mineral contract is not represented by his own counsel, counsel to the board shall represent the interests of the grantor. (8) Where a mineral contract is re-negotiated and there is in existence a contract, hereinafter called the subsequent contract, in respect of the minerals or a part of the minerals affected thereby, which subsequent contract by its terms is to become effective upon the termination, cancellation, avoidance or expiration of the mineral contract, the effective date of the subsequent contract shall be the date of termination, cancellation, avoidance or expiration of the re-negotiated mineral contract, and no action shall lie against the parties to the re-negotiated contract at the suit of the holder of the subsequent contract by reason of their entering into the re-negotiated contract. (9) Notwithstanding anything contained in The Land Titles Act, where a mineral contract is renegotiated it shall be conclusively presumed that the renegotiated contract was executed at the same time as the mineral contract which it amends or for which it is substituted and the rights of the grantee and his priorities with respect to other claimants of rights in the minerals affected thereby shall be determined as of that time, and any caveat filed to protect a mineral contract shall be deemed to have been filed to protect the renegotiated contract. 1959, c.102, s.9.
MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION c. 102 7 Power of board where relief cannot be arranged by mutual agreement 10(1) Whenever it appears to the board that a grantor of mineral rights who has made application for a re-negotiation of a mineral contract is entitled to relief with respect to the contract and that such relief cannot be arranged through mutual agreement between the parties, the board may upon such terms and conditions and in such amount as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe, extend financial aid to the grantor to assist him in instituting and carrying on proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of obtaining such relief. (2) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the board may for the purpose of instituting test cases select certain contracts to which subsection (1) would otherwise apply, and which it regards as being typical of the several classes of such contracts, and may, with the approval of the grantor in each case, institute and carry on proceedings in his name in any court of competent jurisdiction, claiming such relief as it may consider proper. (3) The board shall have the conduct of any proceeding instituted under subsection (2) and shall bear any expense incurred by it in respect of any such proceeding, including any costs rewarded against the grantor, and any costs awarded to the grantor shall be paid to the board. 1959, c.102, s.10. Stay of proceedings in certain actions 11 Where a grantor of mineral rights has, under section 7, made application to the board for the renegotiation of a mineral contract in respect of which an action is then pending in any court in Saskatchewan, or where such an action is commenced after such application has been made, the board may, upon the application of any party to the action, issue a notice in writing to the effect that the mineral contract is under inquiry by the board, and upon the filing of the notice with the local registrar or local clerk of the court in which the action is pending the notice shall operate as a stay of proceedings in the action until such time as the board by order otherwise directs. 1959, c.102, s.11. Authority of one member to act and report 12 The board or the chairman may authorize any one of the members to report to the board upon any question or matter arising in connection with the business of the board, and such member shall, when so authorized, have all the powers of the board for the purpose of taking evidence or acquiring the necessary information for the purpose of such report, and, upon such report being made to the board, it may be adopted by the board or otherwise dealt with as to the board seems proper. 1959, c.102, s.12. Use of court house, etc. 13(1) Where a public hearing of the board, or of any member thereof, is appointed to be held in any city, town or place in which a court house is situated, the member presiding at the public hearing shall have, in all respects, the same authority as a judge of the Court of Queen s Bench with respect to the use of the court house and other buildings or apartments set apart for the administration of justice, but subject to the prior right of the court and of judicial and administrative officers to use such buildings and apartments for the purposes of the administration of justice.
8 c. 102 MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION (2) Where a public hearing is appointed to be held in a municipality where there is a hall belonging to the municipal corporation, the corporation shall, upon request, allow the hearing to be held in such hall 1959, c.102, s.13. Calculation of time for purposes of Limitation of Actions Act 14 Notwithstanding anything contained in The Limitation of Actions Act, in calculating the time within which an action or other proceeding with respect to a mineral contract must be commenced under that Act the period commencing with the date on which application is made under section 7 for a re-negotiation of the contract and extending: (a) where the board has given notice pursuant to subsection (2) of section 8, to the date of such notice; and (b) in all other cases, to a date to be specified by the board; shall not be included in such calculation. 1959, c.102, s.14. Non-liability of board, employees, etc. 15 Neither the board nor any member of the board nor any employee of the board nor any person acting on the board s instructions or under the authority of this Act or the regulations shall be personally liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person by reason of anything in good faith done or omitted to be done under the authority or supposed authority of this Act or the regulations. 1959, c.102, s.15. Rules respecting procedure 16 The board may make rules regulating its own practice and procedure for the conduct of preliminary inquiries under section 8 or public hearings under section 9. 1959, c.102, s.16. Regulations and orders 17 For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act according to their true intent or of meeting cases which may arise and for which no provision is made therein, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make such regulations and orders as he may consider necessary or advisable. 1959, c.102, s.17. Annual report by board 18(1) The board shall, in the month of January by board in each year, transmit to the President of the Executive Council a report, for the year ending on the thirtyfirst day of December in the next preceding year, showing: (a) the number of applications for re-negotiation received from grantors of mineral contracts; (b) the number with respect to which the board, after making preliminary inquiries, decided to take no action, and stating the reasons for each decision; (c) the number with respect to which the board has sought re-negotiation;
MINERAL CONTRACTS RE-NEGOTIATION c. 102 9 (d) the number with respect to which re-negotiation has been or is in the process of being carried out; (e) the number with respect to which re-negotiation has been refused by the grantee or his successor in interest; (f) the number with respect to which public hearings have been held by the board; (g) the number of actions seeking relief that have been brought by the board and the number of such actions that are pending; (h) the results of such actions; (i) such other matters as the Lieutenant Governor in Council directs. (2) The report shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly within fifteen days from the commencement of the session next following the end of the year for which the report is made. 1959, c.102, s.18.
Regina, Saskatchewan Printed by the authority of THE QUEEN S PRINTER