31 May 2013

CP Rail Sues Province
to Reclaim Resource Rights

Victoria Vancouver Island British Columbia - Canadian Pacific Railway is suing the B.C. government to reclaim costs from the sale of resources on hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the B.C. Interior.
 
The unprecedented lawsuit, filed in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, names the province and hundreds of unnamed contractors and landowners who harvested trees or quarried stone on CPR-owned lands, mostly located in the Okanagan and Kootenays.
 
Contracts that CP made with the province as far back as 1892 allowed CP to retain timber and mineral rights on 830,000 acres of railway land when it was sold to private companies and the province, according to the lawsuit.
 
CP contends it holds legal title to the trees and stone on those lands, and is seeking compensation for the removal and sale of those resources.
 
It says the groups were negligent when they allowed harvesting, quarrying, or sale of the trees and stone without CP's consent.
 
The province has been "unjustly enriched through receipt of stumpage and other payments", the suit says, leaving CP deprived of those funds.
 
Against the province, landowners, and contractors, CP is claiming damages, potentially worth millions of dollars, for conversion, trespass, negligence, and other costs.
 
It's also seeking an account of all proceeds received in relation to the extraction of the resources.
 
Breanne Feigel, a spokeswoman for CP, would not disclose an estimate on how much money the company might receive if the suit is successful.
 
She said the company had tried to reach an out-of-court settlement with the government for five years with no result, so now it's looking to the courts for a resolution.
 
Tiffany Crawford.

Vancouver Island
British Columbia
Canada