Acts and Regulations

H-5 - Highway Act

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Full text
Current to 13 December 2023
CHAPTER H-5
Highway Act
Definitions
1In this Act
“arterial highway” means a highway classified by the Minister as an arterial highway;(route de grande communication)
“bridge” means any structure used or intended to be used for the purpose of carrying traffic on a highway over or across a river, stream, ravine, railway or other highway, and having a length between abutments of not less than three metres, and includes the approaches thereto and overpasses and underpasses;(pont)
“collector highway” means a highway classified by the Minister as a collector highway;(route collectrice)
“commercial vehicle inspector” means a peace officer as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act, or any person designated by the Minister as a commercial vehicle inspector; (inspecteur de véhicule utilitaire)
“highway” means a road, street or highway designated by the Minister under section 15 to be a highway and includes(route)
(a) any area made subject to a Department of Transportation Development Area,
(b) a road, street or highway lying inside the territorial limits of a local government and designated by the Minister under section 15 and described as a provincial highway or provincial-municipal highway under section 14 and classified as an arterial highway, collector highway or local highway under section 14,
(b.1) unless the context indicates otherwise or unless the reference is contained in a provision that is in conflict with another provision of this Act, a provision of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act or the regulations under either of them, a highway under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company;
(b.2) unless the context indicates otherwise or unless the reference is contained in a provision that is in conflict with another provision of this Act or a provision of the regulations, a highway that is the subject of a usage agreement, a highway usage permit or a lease or licence granted under subsection 5(2);
(c) a road or street accepted by the Minister under section 35, and
(d) a road or street accepted by the Minister under the Community Planning Act;
“highway district” means a portion of the Province established as a highway district under this Act;(district routier)
“highway division” means a portion of a highway district established as a highway division under this Act;(division routière)
“highway usage permit” means a highway usage permit issued by the Minister under subsection 44.1(9);(permis d’usage routier)
“lease” includes a sub-lease;(bail)
“licence” includes a sub-licence;(licence)
“local government” means a local government as defined in the Local Governance Act;(gouvernement local)
“local highway” means a highway classified by the Minister as a local highway;(route locale)
“Minister” means, unless otherwise provided, the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and includes anyone designated by the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf;(Ministre)
“motor vehicle” means every vehicle that is self-propelled and every vehicle that is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires and not operated upon rails;(véhicule à moteur)
“municipality” Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.1
“person” means a trust, a partnership, a society, an incorporated company or an individual;(personne)
“project company” means a project company as defined in subsection 1(1) of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act;(gérant de projet)
“provincial highway” means a highway that is described by the Minister as a provincial highway;(route provinciale)
“provincial-municipal highway” means a highway that is described by the Minister as a provincial-municipal highway; (route provinciale-municipale)
“public money” means public money of the Province;(fonds publics)
“registry office” means a registry office under the Registry Act;(bureau de l’enregistrement)
“resource access road” means a road or highway used for access to and development of natural resources and classified as a resource access road by the Minister under section 52;(voie d’accès aux ressources)
“right-of-way” means those portions of land that are (emprise)
(a) constructed, operated or maintained as a highway under the administration and control of the Minister, the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, or
(b) the subject of a usage agreement, a highway usage permit, or a lease or licence granted under the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act or under subsection 5(2);
“road” means any place used for the passage of vehicles and includes bridges thereon;(chemin)
“rural community” means a rural community incorporated or continued under the Local Governance Act;(communauté rurale)
“traffic control device” means a sign or device for the regulation, warning or guidance of traffic;(dispositif de réglementation de la circulation)
“traffic officer” Repealed: 1980, c.25, s.1
“usage agreement” means a usage agreement to which section 44.1 applies;(accord d’usage)
“vehicle” means a vehicle as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act together with any load or loads being carried or towed by that vehicle;(véhicule)
“weight” includes mass.(poids)
1968, c.5, s.1; 1969, c.38, s.1; 1973, c.44, s.1; 1976, c.29, s.1; 1977, c.M-11.1, s.9; 1980, c.25, s.1; 1981, c.31, s.1; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41; 1996, c.41, s.1; 1997, c.50, s.20; 1997, c.63, s.1; 1998, c.6, s.1; 2000, c.26, s.153; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2010, c.31, s.57; 2017, c.20, s.81; 2022, c.26, s.1
Administration, binding effect of Ministerial contract
2(1)The Minister shall administer this Act and may designate persons to act on his behalf.
2(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may authorize, in writing, persons to execute agreements and contracts incidental to the acquisition, holding, owning, using, leasing, licensing, planning, designing, financing, refinancing, development, construction, improvement, operation, management, maintenance, repair, replacement, alteration, extension, expansion or rehabilitation of, or other dealings with, highways and ferries, as the case may be, and such agreements and contracts when so executed bind the Crown.
2(3)A contract or undertaking that is not signed by the Minister or by a person designated under subsection (1) or a person authorized to do so under subsection (2) is not binding on the Crown.
1968, c.5, s.2; 1997, c.50, s.20; 1997, c.63, s.2
Supervision of highways and ferries
3The Minister shall have the general supervision of the acquisition, holding, owning, using, leasing, licensing, planning, designing, financing, refinancing, development, construction, improvement, operation, management, maintenance, repair, replacement, alteration, extension, expansion or rehabilitation of, or other dealings with, highways and ferries, as the case may be, except those highways prescribed under section 182 of the Local Governance Act and those highways under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, and shall have general supervision of all public money allotted for such work.
1968, c.5, s.3; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41; 1997, c.50, s.20; 1997, c.63, s.3; 2017, c.20, s.81
Repealed
4Repealed: 1976, c.29, s.2
1973, c.44, s.2; 1976, c.29, s.2
Agreements and contracts with Canada and other persons
5(1)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may enter into and amend from time to time agreements and contracts with Canada or any person respecting the acquisition, holding, owning, using, leasing, licensing, planning, designing, financing, refinancing, development, construction, improvement, operation, management, maintenance, repair, replacement, alteration, extension, expansion or rehabilitation of, or other dealings with, a highway or a ferry, as the case may be.
5(2)Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any provision of any other Act of the Legislature or the regulations under any such Act, the Minister may, by agreement or contract entered into under subsection (1), grant a lease or licence to build and operate on a highway or ferry a business operation that, in the opinion of the Minister, would provide a service to persons using the highway or ferry, including in the lease or licence authority to build or erect such buildings or structures on the highway or ferry as the Minister considers appropriate, and establishing the fee for the lease or licence that the Minister considers appropriate.
1968, c.5, s.4; 1997, c.50, s.20; 1997, c.63, s.4
Contracts and leases to be made in name of the Crown
2023, c.17, s.105
6All contracts and leases made by the Minister shall be made in the name of the Crown in right of the Province.
1968, c.5, s.5; 2023, c.17, s.105
Fair wage schedule
7Every contract made by the Minister whereby labour is to be performed shall contain minimum wage provisions as set out in the applicable minimum wage regulation under the Employment Standards Act.
1968, c.5, s.6; 1987, c.6, s.40
Action by Minister
8(1)Any action or other proceeding for the enforcement of a contract made by the Minister or for the recovery of damages to any highway or for the enforcement of any right in respect of a highway may be instituted in the name of the Minister.
8(2)Nothing in subsection (1) impairs the right of the Crown to institute or maintain an action, suit or proceeding by the Attorney General or otherwise to prevent any trespass or injury or for a breach of contract or to recover damages therefor.
1968, c.5, s.7; 1981, c.6, s.1
Application of the Community Planning Act
8.1(1)Subject to subsection (2), the Community Planning Act and the regulations or by-laws under it do not apply to lands on or between the boundaries of a highway under the administration and control of the Minister, whether on, over or under the highway.
8.1(2)The Provincial Building Regulation - Community Planning Act applies to lands and to buildings and structures, other than bridges, overpasses and underpasses, that are, or are to be, situated on lands that are the subject of a lease or licence granted under subsection 5(2).
1997, c.50, s.20
Annual report of Minister
9The Minister shall make annually a detailed report to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council respecting the expenditure of public money on highways, and such report shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly.
1968, c.5, s.8
Repealed
10Repealed: 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41
1968, c.5, s.9; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41
Contracts respecting purchase of land or other property
11The Minister may contract for the purchase of land and other property required for highway purposes.
1968, c.5, s.10
Vesting of land purchased by Minister, conveyance of land
12All land and property acquired for highway or provincial dump purposes shall be vested in the Crown in right of the Province, and notwithstanding any other Act when any such land or property is not required by the Minister, the Minister may with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council enter into an agreement for the sale or lease thereof and may convey any such land or property by a deed of conveyance, lease or other instrument under the Great Seal of the Province and under the hand of the Minister, and the proceeds of any such sale or leasing shall be accounted for as public money.
1968, c.5, s.11; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41; 2023, c.17, s.105
Deed of conveyance, release of easement
12.1(1)Notwithstanding section 12 and notwithstanding any other Act, the Minister may enter into an agreement for the sale of land or property that is no longer required by the Minister for highway or provincial dump purposes and may convey such land or property by a deed of conveyance under the Great Seal of the Province and under the hand of the Minister if the land or property is sold for less than $15,000.
12.1(2)The proceeds of any sale under subsection (1) shall be accounted for as public money.
12.1(3)Notwithstanding section 12 and any other Act, the Minister may release an easement if the easement is on land or property that the Minister no longer requires for highway or provincial dump purposes, and the release of easement shall be under the Great Seal of the Province and under the hand of the Minister.
2001, c.14, s.3
Report by Minister to Executive Council
12.2(1)Where the Minister sells land or property or releases an easement under section 12.1, the Minister shall provide to Executive Council a report on all such transactions in such form as is approved by Executive Council.
12.2(2)A report under subsection (1) shall be submitted for the six month period after the commencement of this section and for every six month period thereafter, and shall be submitted no later than one month after each six month period.
12.2(3)A report under subsection (1) shall be published in The Royal Gazette no later than one month after the report is accepted by Executive Council.
2001, c.14, s.3
Power to dispose of equipment, machinery or implements
13(1)The Minister may
(a) sell,
(b) lease, or
(c) dispose of by public tender,
for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as he deems advisable, any equipment, machinery or implements no longer required for highway purposes.
13(2)The Minister may trade any equipment, machinery or implements no longer required for highway purposes as a credit toward the purchase of new equipment, machinery or implements required for highway purposes.
1968, c.5, s.12
Power to dispose of motor vehicles, trailers, towed equipment and industrial equipment
13.1Notwithstanding the Financial Administration Act, the Minister may
(a) sell,
(b) lease, or
(c) dispose of by public tender,
for such consideration and on such terms as he considers advisable, any motor vehicles, trailers, towed equipment and industrial equipment, and such other similar items as are specified by regulation, which are used for other than highway purposes and which are
(d) registered in the name of the Minister, or
(e) transferred to the Minister by another member of the Executive Council,
for supervision, maintenance or disposal.
1986, c.41, s.1; 1998, c.6, s.2
Powers of Minister
14The Minister
(a) may assign to any highway a name or number,
(a.1) may describe or re-describe any highway as a provincial highway or a provincial-municipal highway,
(b) may classify and reclassify any highway as an arterial highway, collector highway or local highway, including classifying and reclassifying any highway that is described as a provincial highway or provincial-municipal highway,
(c) may divide the Province into highway districts and assign to each a number and alter such districts and change the boundaries thereof,
(d) may divide each highway district into highway divisions and alter such divisions and change the boundaries thereof, and
(e) may designate persons to be commercial vehicle inspectors and may appoint such officers and employees as he considers necessary for the proper administration of this Act.
1968, c.5, s.13; 1980, c.25, s.2; 2022, c.26, s.2
Status of inspector of commercial vehicles
14.1Every commercial vehicle inspector has, for the purposes of enforcing the provisions of this Act or any provision of the Motor Vehicle Act relating to vehicle weight or size or any other law that regulates vehicle weight or size, all the power, authority and immunities of a peace officer under the Motor Vehicle Act.
1980, c.25, s.3; 1987, c.6, s.40
Designation of road as highway
15(1)The Minister may designate roads as highways by filing in the registry office of the county in which the roads lie
(a) a written description of the roads and maps showing the general location of the roads, or
(b) maps of the roads that have the coordinate survey system indicated on them.
15(2)Those roads that have been designated as highways in accordance with this section are highways for the purposes of this Act.
15(3)Where the Minister has designated roads as highways under this section, he shall publish in The Royal Gazette a notice that he has designated those roads as highways under this section.
15(4)The Minister may amend a designation made under subsection (1) to add or delete roads as designated highways, or for any other purpose, and in so amending the designation may
(a) add words to or delete words from the description,
(b) add words and symbols to and delete words and symbols from any map, and
(c) by appropriate words and symbols indicate that a road or portion thereof is or is not designated as a highway.
15(5)Where the Minister causes a highway or portion thereof to be discontinued under section 33, the designation under subsection (1) is deemed to be amended accordingly.
15(6)A highway designated under this section includes bridges and other structures incidental to the highway.
1968, c.5, s.14; 1980, c.25, s.4; 1998, c.6, s.3
Department of Transportation Development Area
16Where the Minister proposes
(a) to expend public money on the acquisition and development of any area of land for highway purposes in the Province, and
(b) to acquire all the lands in that area over a period of time as they become available or are needed for highway purposes in the Province,
the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may declare that area of land to be a Department of Transportation Development Area.
1968, c.5, s.15; 1976, c.29, s.3
Purchase and lease of land within development area
17(1)The Minister may acquire land within a Department of Transportation Development Area by purchase or expropriation, when the land is required for and in connection with a highway, whether by the Minister or by the New Brunswick Highway Corporation.
17(2)Where the Minister is negotiating the purchase of land in a Department of Transportation Development Area and the owner indicates that in the event of a sale he wishes to retain possession or the right to possession of the land for any period of time or until it is required for or in connection with a highway, the Minister shall negotiate with that owner in good faith and shall lease that land to that owner until it is required for or in connection with a highway.
17(3)Where land lying within a Department of Transportation Development Area is expropriated, the Minister may lease that land until it is required for or in connection with a highway.
17(4)The Minister may terminate any lease granted under subsection (2) or (3), notwithstanding the term of the lease, by giving the lessee thirty days notice to vacate in writing and by sending that notice by registered mail to the lessee.
1968, c.5, s.16; 1969, c.38, s.2; 1976, c.29, s.4; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41
Request to Minister to purchase land within development area
18(1)Where land is made subject to a declaration under section 16 the owner of the land may, at any time after the declaration is made, request the Minister to purchase that land.
18(2)If the Minister, within two years of the receipt by him of a request to purchase land given under subsection (1), does not purchase the land made subject to that request to purchase, then that land ceases to be subject to the declaration made under section 16.
1969, c.38, s.3
Improvement on land within development area
19No person shall construct an improvement or reconstruct or add to an improvement on any land within a Department of Transportation Development Area except with the approval in writing of the Minister.
1968, c.5, s.17; 1976, c.29, s.5
Filings and notice of creation of development area
20Where a Department of Transportation Development Area is created under section 16, the Minister
(a) shall file a copy of the Order-in-Council and a plan of the Department of Transportation Development Area in the registry office of the county in which the land lies and shall cause notice of the filing of the Order-in-Council and plan to be published in The Royal Gazette within thirty days of their being filed in the registry office, and
(b) at the time the lands become affected by sections 16 to 22
(i) shall cause to be registered in the registry office of the county in which the land lies, a notice to the persons who appear from the records of that registry office to be owners of the land in the Department of Transportation Development Area, that the land is so affected, and
(ii) shall cause a notice to be sent by registered mail to the persons who appear from the records of the registry office in the county in which the affected land lies to be the owners of the land in the Department of Transportation Development Area, that the land is so affected.
1968, c.5, s.18; 1976, c.29, s.5
Expropriation of land within development area
21(1)Subject to subsection (2), where land within a Department of Transportation Development Area is expropriated under section 17, the owner shall be compensated for that land as though the land were not in a Department of Transportation Development Area.
21(2)Where an owner of land within a Department of Transportation Development Area contravenes section 19, no compensation shall be paid to the owner for any increase in value resulting therefrom.
1968, c.5, s.19; 1976, c.29, s.5
Interest in land within development area
22Any person who holds or acquires an interest in land within a Department of Transportation Development Area holds or acquires that interest subject to sections 16 to 21.
1968, c.5, s.20; 1976, c.29, s.5
Powers of Minister
23The Minister, by himself, his engineers, agents and workmen,
(a) may enter upon any land, survey and take levels of the same and make such borings or sink such trial pits as he deems necessary for any purpose relative to a highway,
(b) may take possession of any land, waters or watercourse that, in his opinion, is necessary for the construction, maintenance or repair of a highway, or for obtaining access thereto,
(c) may enter upon any land including any Crown lands whether leased or not and deposit thereon any material required for a highway or for the purpose of removing or carrying away any material, and may remove therefrom any material for constructing, maintaining or repairing a highway and for such purpose may make and use such temporary roads to and from such lands as the Minister deems necessary for such purposes,
(d) may enter upon any land for the purpose of making drains in which to carry off water from a highway and of keeping such drains in repair,
(e) may alter the course of any watercourse and road and change the level of the same, and
(f) may enter upon any land and take temporary possession of the land for the purpose of a detour in a highway during the period required to construct or repair the said highway, or for the purpose of a temporary winter road.
1968, c.5, s.21; 2021, c.11, s.1
Compensation of landowner for injurious affection
24The Minister shall compensate the owner of lands injuriously affected by anything done under section 23, paragraph 28(1)(c), section 38 or 64 which compensation shall be paid from the money allotted for the construction or maintenance of highways.
1968, c.5, s.22
Claim for compensation for injurious affection
25Any person claiming to be entitled to compensation shall deliver to the Minister a written claim setting forth full particulars thereof and of his right and title to such compensation.
1968, c.5, s.23
Reasonable compensation for injurious affection
26If the Minister does not agree with the person claiming compensation the Minister shall offer in writing the amount that he considers to be reasonable compensation and at the same time give notice in writing to the person that if the amount of the offer is not accepted, the matter of the compensation shall be submitted to The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick or any judge thereof acting under Part II of the Expropriation Act.
1968, c.5, s.24; 1973, c.6, s.63; 1985, c.4, s.30; 2023, c.17, s.105
Offer not accepted re injurious affection
27Where the offer of the Minister under section 26 is not accepted, the Minister shall submit the matter of compensation to The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick or any judge thereof acting under Part II of the Expropriation Act for determination.
1968, c.5, s.25; 1973, c.6, s.63; 1985, c.4, s.30; 1998, c.6, s.4; 2023, c.17, s.105
Powers of Minister, resistance or opposition
28(1)The Minister, by himself, his engineers, agents and workmen, without compensating the owner thereof or of any lands abutting the same,
(a) may remove for highway purposes any soil, gravel, rock or other material being part of, or any tree, shrub or plant growing upon, any highway and may use anything so removed for highway purposes,
(b) may remove or demolish any building, structure, obstruction or encroachment upon a highway,
(c) may take and carry away from the seashore, or from the shore or beach of any bay, harbour, or strait or from the bed or beach of any river, stream or lake any gravel, rock, sand or other material for the construction or repair of a highway, but if any damage is caused to the lands of such owner in carrying away such material the Minister shall compensate the owner for the damage,
(d) may enter upon any lands adjacent to a highway between the first day of November and the first day of May in the year immediately following and remove therefrom any fence likely to cause snow drifts upon a highway, and any fence so removed shall be replaced thereon not later than the first day of June immediately following, and
(e) may enter upon any lands adjacent to a highway and erect and maintain thereon and remove therefrom snow fences.
28(2)If any resistance or opposition is made by any person to the removal or demolition authorized under paragraph (1)(b), a judge of The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick on production of a certificate provided for under section 29 and after notice to show cause given in such manner as he prescribes, may issue his warrant to the sheriff responsible for the county within which such highway is situate directing him to put down such resistance or opposition and put the Minister, his engineers, agents and workmen in possession thereof and the sheriff shall make a return to the clerk of The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick for the judicial district which includes that county, of such warrant and the manner in which he executed the same.
1968, c.5, s.26; 1979, c.41, s.61; 1980, c.32, s.10; 1988, c.42, s.25; 1998, c.6, s.5; 2023, c.17, s.105
Certificate of highway
29The Minister may certify that any highway or portion thereof is a highway and his certificate shall be conclusive evidence that such highway or portion thereof is a highway.
1968, c.5, s.27
Width of highway
30(1)All highways existing on the coming into force of paragraph 9(b) of Schedule A of the Metric Conversion Act, except those laid out and recorded as two-rod highways, shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to have been laid out four rods in width.
30(2)All highways that are laid out after the coming into force of paragraph 9(b) of Schedule A of the Metric Conversion Act shall be at least twenty metres in width unless the Lieutenant-Governor in Council otherwise orders.
30(3)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on recommendation of the Minister and if satisfied that a width of less than twenty metres is sufficient for highway purposes, may order that a highway be laid out less than twenty metres but not less than ten metres in width.
30(4)Where any doubt or dispute as to the boundaries of a highway arises a line drawn along the centre line of the travelled portion of such highways shall be deemed prima facie to be the centre line of such highway.
1968, c.5, s.28; 1977, c.M-11.1, s.9; 1979, c.42, s.2
Village, rural community and regional municipality streets
2022, c.26, s.3
31(1)Notwithstanding the Community Planning Act, the Minister with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may establish the standards to be met in the construction of a road or street by a person who lays out and constructs a road or street in a village, rural community or regional municipality.
31(2)Where a village, rural community or regional municipality makes a subdivision by-law prescribing standards for the laying out of streets, the Minister may exempt the village, rural community or regional municipality from the application of the standards established under subsection (1).
31(3)Subject to subsection (2), a person who constructs or causes to be constructed a road or street contrary to the standards established in accordance with subsection (1) commits an offence.
1968, c.5, s.29; 1973, c.44, s.3; 1990, c.61, s.61; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.4
Vesting of soil and freehold of highway, release of highway to local government
2022, c.26, s.5
32(1)The title to the soil and freehold of highways vested in the Crown under Chapter 6 of 4 Edward VII (1904), which Chapter was repealed by Chapter 34 of 8 Edward VII (1908), is hereby declared to be vested in the owners of lands abutting the highways on April 21, 1927 and in the successors in title to such owners, in the same manner as the title was vested in the owners of lands abutting the highways before the passing of the first mentioned Chapter.
32(2)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may declare by proclamation that any highway shall cease to be under the control of the Minister after a day named in the proclamation and such highway shall after such day be under the jurisdiction of the local government in which it is situated.
32(3)The soil and freehold of every highway owned by the Crown to which a proclamation under subsection (2) relates shall be vested in that local government named in the proclamation under subsection (2).
1968, c.5, s.30; 1973, c.44, s.4; 1996, c.41, s.2; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.6; 2023, c.17, s.105
Discontinuance of highway
33(1)Where in the opinion of the Minister a highway or road or any portion of a highway or road is not required for use by the public, he may cause such highway or road or portion thereof to be discontinued
(a) by recording in the registry office for the county in which it is situated, a plan thereof, together with a certificate to the effect that such highway or road or portion thereof is discontinued, or
(b) by recording in the registry office for the county in which it is situated a certificate to the effect that such highway or road or portion thereof is discontinued, which certificate shall describe that highway or road or portion thereof in relation to property owners, property lines and existing highways or roads with sufficient particularity to enable the identification of that highway or road or portion thereof,
and thereupon that highway or road or portion thereof ceases to be a highway.
33(2)Where the discontinuance of a highway or road or portion thereof would isolate any property from a highway or where buildings are located along the land abutting a highway or road, the Minister shall not cause such highway or road or portion thereof to be discontinued unless in his opinion adequate access to a highway is provided.
33(3)Where a highway or road or portion thereof is discontinued under this section, all rights of the public to pass over the discontinued highway or road or portion thereof cease.
33(4)The discontinuance of any highway or road or portion thereof prior to the coming into force of this section under the authority of this or any previous Act with respect to public highways is hereby ratified and confirmed, and subsection (3) applies thereto as if the discontinuance was effected under this section.
1968, c.5, s.31; 1969, c.38, s.4; 1980, c.25, s.5; 1991, c.27, s.18
Closing of highway
34(1)The Minister, if of the opinion that it is necessary or advisable, may close temporarily, permanently or for a specified period of time any highway or portion of a highway, other than a highway that is under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, by causing to be posted on the highway or portion signs or notices to the effect that the highway or portion is closed temporarily, permanently or for a specified period of time, and evidence of the existence on a highway or portion of a highway of a sign or notice to the effect that the highway or portion is closed temporarily, permanently or for a specified period of time is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the sign or notice was posted and maintained under the authority of the Minister and that the highway or portion of a highway is closed temporarily, permanently or for a specified period of time.
34(1.1)The Minister may limit the closing of any highway or portion thereof under subsection (1) to a specified class of motor vehicle.
34(2)Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.7
34(3)Where a person operates or causes to be operated on a highway a motor vehicle when the highway is closed under this section, that person commits an offence.
1968, c.5, s.32; 1973, c.44, s.5; 1980, c.25, s.6; 1985, c.12, s.1; 1988, c.17, s.1; 1997, c.50, s.20; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.7
Permit re closed of highway
34.1(1)Upon application and upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation, the Minister may issue a permit in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, authorizing a person to operate a motor vehicle or cause a motor vehicle to be operated on a highway or portion of a highway that is closed under subsection 34(1).
34.1(2)Subsection 34(3) does not apply to a person operating a motor vehicle or causing a motor vehicle to be operated on a highway closed by the Minister if the person is acting under, and in accordance with the terms and conditions of, a valid and subsisting permit issued or renewed under this section.
34.1(3)The Minister, in the Minister’s discretion, may cancel or suspend a permit issued or renewed under this section and may reinstate a suspended permit subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.
34.1(4)Upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation, the Minister may amend or renew a permit issued under subsection (1), subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine.
1997, c.63, s.5
Acceptance of highway
35(1)No road constructed by a person other than the Minister or a person acting on his behalf shall become a highway for the purposes of this Act until the Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, certifies that he accepts the road as a highway for the purposes of this Act and amends his designation under section 15 accordingly.
35(2)Notwithstanding the Community Planning Act the Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may accept a road or street as a highway by certifying that he accepts the road or street as a highway for the purposes of this Act and amends his designation under section 15 accordingly.
1968, c.5, s.33
Height and weight restrictions
36(1)In this section
“authorized emergency vehicle” means an authorized emergency vehicle as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act;(véhicule de secours autorisé)
“height restriction” means, with reference to a bridge, any maximum restriction imposed by the Minister with respect to that bridge under subsection (3) in relation to the height of a vehicle;(limitation de hauteur)
“municipality” Repealed: 2005, c.7, s.34
“weight restriction” means, with reference to a highway or bridge, any maximum restriction imposed by the Minister with respect to that highway or bridge under subsection (2) or (3) in relation to the weight of a vehicle.(limitation de poids)
36(2)The Minister, if of the opinion that the operation of a vehicle may cause damage to a highway, may impose weight restrictions with respect to that highway at the time and for the period the Minister considers necessary by causing to be posted on the highway a sign indicating a maximum weight restriction for a vehicle, or a maximum weight restriction per axle or combination of axles of a vehicle, and the restriction takes effect when the sign is posted.
36(3)The Minister may impose a height restriction, a weight restriction or both with respect to a bridge by causing to be posted on the bridge a sign indicating a maximum height restriction for a vehicle, a maximum weight restriction for a vehicle, a maximum weight restriction per axle or combination of axles of a vehicle or any combination of those restrictions, and the restriction takes effect when the sign is posted.
36(4)Evidence of the existence on a highway or bridge of a sign indicating a weight restriction, a height restriction or both is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the sign was posted and maintained under the authority of the Minister, and of the weight restriction, the height restriction or both, imposed with respect to the highway or bridge.
36(5)The Minister may amend or cancel a sign posted under subsection (2) or (3) at any time.
36(6)The Minister may, in addition to posting a sign under subsection (2) or (3), give notice of a weight or height restriction by such other means as the Minister considers expedient, but failure to give notice under this subsection does not invalidate the weight or height restriction.
36(7)If a person, excepting a person acting under and in accordance with a special permit issued under subsection (13), operates a vehicle on a highway or bridge with respect to which a weight restriction is in effect and the weight of the vehicle including any load, or the weight per axle or combination of axles, as the case may be, is in excess of the weight restriction, that person commits an offence.
36(8)If a person operates a vehicle on or under a bridge with respect to which a height restriction is in effect and the height of the vehicle including any load is in excess of the height restriction, that person commits an offence.
36(9)If a person operates a vehicle on a highway or bridge with respect to which a weight restriction is in effect and the weight of the vehicle including any load is in excess of the weight restriction, that person shall, in addition to any fine imposed under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act, be ordered to pay a further penalty calculated on that excess weight as follows:
(a) one dollar for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms in the first twenty-five hundred kilograms of excess weight;
(b) two dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over twenty-five hundred kilograms up to and including forty-five hundred kilograms;
(c) three dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over forty-five hundred kilograms up to and including seven thousand kilograms;
(d) four dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over seven thousand kilograms up to and including nine thousand kilograms; and
(e) five dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over nine thousand kilograms.
36(10)If a person operates a vehicle on a highway or bridge with respect to which a weight restriction is in effect with a weight per axle or combination of axles in excess of the weight restriction, that person shall, in addition to any fine imposed under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act, be ordered to pay a further penalty calculated on that excess weight as follows:
(a) one dollar for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms in the first twenty-five hundred kilograms of excess weight;
(b) two dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over twenty-five hundred kilograms up to and including forty-five hundred kilograms;
(c) three dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over forty-five hundred kilograms up to and including seven thousand kilograms;
(d) four dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over seven thousand kilograms up to and including nine thousand kilograms; and
(e) five dollars for each fifty kilograms or fraction of fifty kilograms of excess weight over nine thousand kilograms.
36(11)If a person operates a vehicle or causes a vehicle to be operated on a highway or on or under a bridge with respect to which a weight restriction, a height restriction or both are in effect and the weight of the vehicle including any load, or the weight per axle or combination of axles, as the case may be, is in excess of the weight restriction or the height including any load is in excess of the height restriction and, by doing so, causes damage to the highway or bridge, the owner and the operator of the vehicle are jointly and severally liable to the Crown for the damage.
36(12)Upon application, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, issue a special permit, subject to the terms and conditions the Minister considers appropriate, authorizing the operation or movement of
(a) a vehicle on a highway with respect to which a weight restriction is in effect, or
(b) a vehicle that is operated under a contract with or is owned by a local government and that is used for the purpose of maintaining highways, including for snow removal, salting, sanding or grading, during the month of November, December, January, February, March or April, on a bridge with respect to which a weight restriction is in effect.
36(13)A special permit may permit the holder or other person acting under and in accordance with the permit to operate or move a vehicle that exceeds weight restrictions imposed with respect to a highway or a bridge, as the case may be, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the permit.
36(14)The issuance of a special permit does not affect the liability imposed on any person by subsection (11).
36(15)Weight restrictions imposed with respect to a bridge do not apply to
(a) authorized emergency vehicles and the persons operating those vehicles, and
(b) vehicles that are operated under a contract with or are owned by the Province and are used for the purpose of maintaining highways, including for snow removal, salting, sanding or grading, and the persons operating those vehicles, during the months of November, December, January, February, March and April.
1968, c.5, s.34; 1972, c.34, s.1; 1977, c.26, s.1; 1980, c.25, s.7; 1981, c.31, s.2, 3; 1987, c.6, s.40; 1987, c.25, s.1; 1988, c.17, s.2; 1990, c.51, s.1; 1990, c.61, s.61; 1993, c.20, s.1; 1998, c.6, s.6; 2022, c.26, s.8
Commercial vehicle inspectors, weighing devices, qualified technicians, Registrar of Motor Vehicles
37(1)In this section
“approved weighing device” means a weighing device established in accordance with the regulations as an approved weighing device for the purposes of this section;(dispositif de mesure de poids approuvé)
“qualified technician” means a person deemed to be a qualified technician under subsection (9).(technicien qualifié)
37(2)Any commercial vehicle inspector may
(a) demand that the operator of a vehicle or, when the vehicle is not then being operated, the person having care or control of the vehicle submit the vehicle or an axle or axles of the vehicle to a weighing by means of an approved weighing device,
(b) demand that the operator of a vehicle or, when the vehicle is not then being operated, the person having care or control of the vehicle drive the vehicle forthwith to the location of an approved weighing device specified by the commercial vehicle inspector and at that location submit the vehicle or an axle or axles of the vehicle to a weighing, and
(c) if the inspector has reason to believe, upon the weighing of a vehicle or an axle or axles of a vehicle by means of an approved weighing device operated by a qualified technician, that the weight of the vehicle, the weight per axle or axles or the weight distribution of the vehicle related to axle loadings is greater than the limit permitted by this Act or the regulations, direct the operator or person having care or control of the vehicle
(i) to drive the vehicle to a location specified by the commercial vehicle inspector and to leave the vehicle standing at that location until such portion of the load is removed as may be necessary to reduce the weight of the vehicle or the weight per axle or axles, or to correct the weight distribution of the vehicle, to within the limit permitted by this Act or the regulations, or
(ii) forthwith to remove such portion of the load as may be necessary to reduce the weight of the vehicle or the weight per axle or axles, or to correct the weight distribution of the vehicle, to the limit permitted by this Act or the regulations.
37(3)A person who fails or refuses to comply with a demand or direction made or given to the person by a commercial vehicle inspector under subsection (2) commits an offence.
37(4)Any commercial vehicle inspector, for the purposes of making a demand under paragraph (2)(a) or (b), may
(a) signal the operator of a vehicle to stop, and
(b) give the operator or the person having care or control of the vehicle such directions as to the operation of the vehicle as the inspector considers necessary.
37(5)An operator or a person having care or control of a vehicle who fails or refuses to comply with a signal to stop or with a direction as to the operation of the vehicle given to the operator or person by a commercial vehicle inspector under subsection (4) commits an offence.
37(6)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations designating a device of a kind that is designed to measure weight as being an approved weighing device for the purposes of this section and may, for that purpose, adopt by reference in the regulations a regulation made under the Motor Vehicle Act, with any necessary modifications.
37(7)The Minister may in writing designate a person as being qualified
(a) to operate an approved weighing device, or
(b) to test, determine and certify the accuracy of any approved weighing device.
37(8)Repealed: 2002, c.52, s.1
37(9)A person who has been designated under paragraph (7)(a) shall be deemed to be a qualified technician and a person designated under paragraph (7)(b) shall be deemed to be a person qualified to test, determine and certify the accuracy of any approved weighing device.
37(10)A certificate of a qualified technician stating that the technician has weighed a vehicle or an axle or axles of a vehicle by means of an approved weighing device and stating the result of the weighing is evidence
(a) of the statements contained in the certificate without proof of the signature or the official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate, and
(b) where the vehicle referred to in the certificate bears the same registration number as the vehicle with respect to which the offence is alleged to have been committed, that the vehicle referred to in the certificate is the vehicle with respect to which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
37(11)A certificate of a person designated under paragraph (7)(b) stating that the person has tested an approved weighing device and stating the accuracy of the approved weighing device is evidence of the statements contained in the certificate without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have signed the certificate.
37(12)No certificate referred to in subsection (10) or (11) shall be received in evidence unless the party intending to produce it has, before the trial, given to the accused reasonable notice of the intention together with a copy of the certificate.
37(13)Any person against whom a certificate described in subsection (10) or (11) is produced may, with leave of the court, require the attendance of the person signing the certificate for the purposes of cross-examination.
37(14)Where in any proceedings respecting an offence under subsection 36(7), a vehicle, or an axle or axles of a vehicle, have been weighed under a demand made under subsection (2), evidence of the results of the weighing is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof of the weight of the vehicle, of the weight per axle or axles of the vehicle or of the weight distribution of the vehicle at the time when the offence is alleged to have been committed, if
(a) the vehicle, or an axle or axles of it, were weighed by means of an approved weighing device operated by a qualified technician, and
(b) the vehicle, or an axle or axles of it, were weighed by means of an approved weighing device certified by a person designated under paragraph (7)(b) as being accurate on any day within the period of, but not exceeding, 120 days before the weighing.
37(15)The Registrar of Motor Vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act may issue a certificate stating that a vehicle is or was on a specified date registered in the name of a specified person and that the permissible weight for which the vehicle is or was registered on the specified date is as stated in the certificate, and any such certificate purporting to be signed by the Registrar shall be
(a) received in evidence by any court in the Province without proof of the signature set out in the certificate,
(b) evidence, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the facts stated in the certificate, and
(c) on the hearing of an information for a violation of this Act or the regulations, evidence, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the person named in the certificate is the accused and that the vehicle referred to in the certificate is the vehicle in respect of which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
37(16)Operators or other persons having care or control of a vehicle shall care for material they have unloaded from the vehicle at their own risk, where they have been
(a) directed under subparagraph (2)(c)(i) to drive the vehicle to a specified location and to leave the vehicle standing at that location until a portion of the load is removed, or
(b) directed under subparagraph (2)(c)(ii) to remove a portion of the load.
1968, c.5, s.35; 1980, c.25, s.8; 1981, c.31, s.4; 1985, c.12, s.2; 1987, c.6, s.40; 1990, c.22, s.24; 1998, c.6, s.7; 2002, c.52, s.1; 2016, c.28, s.52; 2019, c.20, s.8
Regulations re controlled access highway
38(1)On the recommendation of the Minister, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) designating a highway or a portion of a highway to be a controlled access highway under one of the following categories:
(i) a level I controlled access highway;
(ii) a level II controlled access highway;
(iii) a level III controlled access highway; or
(iv) a level IV controlled access highway; or
(b) revising or revoking the designation of a highway or a portion of a highway made under paragraph (a).
38(2)A regulation made under subsection (1) shall contain a general or particular description or an attached plan, or a description and plan of the highway or the portion of a highway designated to be a controlled access highway.
38(3)A certified copy of a regulation made under subsection (1) and filed in accordance with the Regulations Act shall be registered in the registry office or the land titles office, as the case may be, for each county in which any portion of the highway so designated is situated.
38(4)Notwithstanding section 3 of the Regulations Act, a regulation made under subsection (1) shall take effect and the highway or portion of a highway to which it relates shall be a controlled access highway on the later of
(a) the date on which the regulation is registered in the registry office or the land titles office, as the case may be, under subsection (3), and
(b) any commencement date specified in the regulation.
38(5)A notice of the registration under subsection (3) of a certified copy of a regulation, containing sufficient particularity of the controlled access highway to identify it, shall be published in each county in which any portion of the controlled access highway is situated
(a) if a newspaper is published in the county, in such a newspaper, or
(b) if no newspaper is published in the county, in a newspaper having general circulation in the county.
38(6)Failure to give notice, in accordance with subsection (5), of the registration of a certified copy of a regulation does not, by virtue of the failure alone, affect the validity of the regulation.
1968, c.5, s.36; 1987, c.6, s.40; 1989, c.56, s.1; 1994, c.30, s.1
Controlled access highways
39(1)In this section
“utility” means a person
(a) who owns, operates, manages or controls any plant or machinery for the conveyance of telephone messages, the production, transmission, delivery or furnishing of heat, light, water, gas or power or the removal or treatment of wastewater, if doing so as an employee or agent of the Province or of a provincial Crown corporation, or
(b) who is designated in accordance with the regulations as a utility for the purposes of this section,
and does not include a person who owns, operates, manages or controls any plant or machinery for the conveyance of television or radio signals.
39(2)Subject to subsections (10) to (14) and subsection (18), no person shall construct, use, open or permit the use of any private road, entrance way, driveway or gate or any local government road or street intended for or capable of providing access to any part of a highway designated to be a controlled access highway.
39(3)The Minister, by order, may direct the closure or the closure and removal of any access to a controlled access highway constructed, used or opened in violation of this section.
39(4)An order made under subsection (3) may be directed to one or more persons, one of whom may be the owner of the land in respect of which the access is constructed, used or opened.
39(5)An order made under subsection (3) shall
(a) be in writing and be signed by the person authorized to make the order,
(b) be served, by personal delivery or by registered or certified mail, on the person to whom the order is directed,
(c) specify what action is to be undertaken by the person to whom the order is directed in relation to the access to which the order relates, and
(d) establish a time limit within which the action referred to in paragraph (c) shall be completed.
39(6)A person served with an order in accordance with paragraph (5)(b) shall comply with the order.
39(7)If a person served with an order in accordance with paragraph (5)(b) fails to comply with the order within the time limit established in the order, the Minister may cause the action specified in the order to be undertaken and may recover the costs of undertaking that action from that person in any court of competent jurisdiction.
39(8)For the purpose of enforcing an order made under subsection (3), the Minister, together with such persons, materials and equipment the Minister considers necessary, may enter upon any lands, using the force the Minister considers necessary, and may take such further action the Minister considers necessary.
39(9)If a person served with an order in accordance with paragraph (5)(b) fails to comply with the order, the Minister may apply by way of notice of application to a judge of The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick for one or more of the following orders:
(a) an order prohibiting the construction, use or opening of the access;
(b) an order directing the removal of the access by the person to whom the order relates; and
(c) such other order as is considered necessary in order to enforce the provisions of this section.
39(10)The Minister, on being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected and upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation, may issue a permit, in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, permitting access to a controlled access highway for the following purposes:
(a) in respect of a level II controlled access highway, for the purpose of a temporary access to lands that will be used for the development, management or removal of an agricultural or natural resource without the construction or location of any building on the lands;
(b) in respect of a level III controlled access highway, for the purpose of
(i) a temporary access described in paragraph (a), or
(ii) a local government road or street access; and
(c) in respect of a level IV controlled access highway, for the purpose of
(i) a temporary access described in paragraph (a),
(ii) a local government road or street access,
(ii.1) public highway access lying outside the territorial limits of a local government,
(iii) emergency access, or
(iv) access for a utility.
39(11)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected and on the recommendation of the Minister, may by Order in Council authorize the Minister to issue a permit, upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation and in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, permitting access to a level I, II or III controlled access highway for the purpose of
(a) emergency access, or
(b) access for a utility.
39(12)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council, on being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected and on the recommendation of the Minister, may by Order in Council authorize the Minister to issue a permit, upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation and in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, permitting access to a level IV controlled access highway for a purpose other than a purpose referred to in paragraph (10)(c).
39(13)The Minister, on being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected and upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation, may issue a temporary permit to the Province, an agent of the Province, a provincial Crown corporation, the holder of a lease or licence granted under subsection 6(6) of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act or under subsection 5(2), or any person with whom any of them has made a contract, and their employees and agents, in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, permitting access to a controlled access highway for the purpose of carrying out construction, improvement, maintenance or repair work or conveying materials for those purposes during the period of time stipulated on the permit.
39(14)The Minister, on being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected and upon payment of any fee prescribed by regulation, may issue a permit in such form and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, permitting access to a controlled access highway that would otherwise be prohibited under this section, if the access was constructed, used or opened before the highway or the portion of a highway on which the access is located was designated to be a controlled access highway under one of the categories referred to in subsection 38(1).
39(15)The Minister may, in the discretion of the Minister, cancel any permit issued under this section.
39(16)The Minister shall cause to be maintained a record of all permits issued under this section and that record shall be open to public inspection.
39(17)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the marking of any private road, entrance way, driveway or gate or any local government road or street in respect of which a permit may be issued under this section.
39(18)Subject to this section, the Minister may construct farm crossings over any highway ditch for the purpose of giving access to the travelled portion of a highway from lands abutting the highway.
39(19)Nothing in this section shall be construed by any person, court or other tribunal to prohibit the New Brunswick Highway Corporation from constructing, using, opening or permitting use of any private road, entrance way, driveway or gate or any local government road or street intended for or capable of providing access to any part of a highway that is under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation.
1968, c.5, s.37; 1972, c.34, s.3; 1976, c.29, s.6; 1987, c.6, s.40; 1989, c.56, s.2; 1990, c.61, s.61; 1994, c.30, s.2; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41; 1997, c.50, s.20; 2021, c.11, s.2; 2022, c.26, s.9; 2023, c.17, s.105
Permit re accessto highway that has not been designated to be a controlled access highway
39.1(1)No person shall construct, use or permit the use of any private road, entrance way, driveway or gate or any local government road or street intended for or capable of providing access to any part of a highway that has not been designated to be a controlled access highway without obtaining a permit from the Minister.
39.1(2)The Minister may grant an application for a permit under subsection (1) if the proposed access, in his opinion, would not be inconsistent with such safety standards as have been established by regulation respecting access to highways that have not been designated to be controlled access highways.
1980, c.25, s.9; 1989, c.56, s.3; 2022, c.26, s.10
Compensation of landowner for injurious affection
40No compensation shall be paid under section 24 where the lands affected by an order made under section 38 abut a portion of a highway in which the soil and freehold is vested in the Crown in right of the Province or the New Brunswick Highway Corporation.
1968, c.5, s.38; 1997, c.63, s.6; 2023, c.17, s.105
Repealed
41Repealed: 1996, c.41, s.3
1968, c.5, s.39; 1996, c.41, s.3
Repealed
42Repealed: 1996, c.41, s.4
1968, c.5, s.40; 1996, c.41, s.4
Advertisements on highway
43(1)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may make regulations
(a) prohibiting or regulating the erecting, maintaining, posting, painting or exposing of advertisements upon or within
(i) one hundred fifty metres from the near edge of the travelled portion of any highway that is inside the territorial limits of any city or town and is designated as a level I or level II controlled access highway under subsection 38(1),
(ii) five hundred metres from the near edge of the travelled portion of any highway that is outside the territorial limits of any city or town and is designated as a level I or level II controlled access highway under subsection 38(1), and
(iii) one hundred fifty metres from the near edge of the travelled portion of any highway that is outside the territorial limits of any city or town but is not designated as a level I or level II controlled access highway under subsection 38(1);
(b) prescribing a method of identifying any advertisement erected or maintained in conformity with this Act;
(c) respecting the payment or the non-payment of compensation or costs in relation to the destruction, removal, relocation or disposal of advertisements, changes respecting advertisements or the cancellation of permits issued respecting advertisements, including respecting the procedure for the collection of any such costs.
43(2)A person who, contrary to any such regulations, erects, maintains, pastes, paints or exposes an advertisement or permits an advertisement to be erected, maintained, pasted, painted or exposed, commits an offence.
43(3)Any person who destroys or defaces any advertisement, either lawfully authorized under this section or the property of the Crown, commits an offence.
43(4)The owner or occupant of land upon which an advertisement is erected, maintained, pasted, painted or exposed contrary to such regulations, who fails to remove the advertisement within ten days after receipt of notice from the Minister requiring him to do so commits an offence.
43(5)The notice referred to in subsection (4) may be served personally or by letter, postage prepaid and registered, addressed to the owner or occupant at his nearest post office, and is deemed to be received on the third day following the day of service or mailing.
43(6)If any advertisement is erected, maintained, pasted, painted or exposed contrary to this section or the regulations made under this section or if the Minister is satisfied that any advertisement constitutes an immediate hazard that interferes with safe use of a highway, the Minister may, with or without notice to any interested person, remove the advertisement or cause it to be removed by the officers, agents or servants of the Minister, and the Minister and those officers, agents or servants have for that purpose full power and authority to enter into and upon any land or building with or without the consent of any interested person to dispose of the advertisement in accordance with the directions of the Minister.
43(7)In this section the word “advertisement” includes any sign, placard, boarding, bill board or any other form or means or device whatsoever of public notice or announcement whether erected, pasted or painted, and also includes any sign, placard, boarding or bill board or other device or medium intended, suitable or adapted as a form or means of public notice or announcement whether or not the same is at the time actually used for such purpose.
43(8)Nothing in this section affects any traffic control device erected by or with the approval of the Minister.
1968, c.5, s.40; 1969, c.38, s.5; 1972, c.34, s.4, 5, 6; 1977, c.M-11.1, s.9; 1990, c.61, s.61; 1996, c.22, s.1; 2022, c.26, s.11; 2023, c.17, s.105
Repealed
44Repealed: 1996, c.41, s.5
1968, c.5, s.42; 1996, c.41, s.5
Usage of highways
44.1(1)In this section
“exemption” means an exemption referred to in paragraph 67(1)(c.32) or (c.35);(exemption)
“highway” includes all or any portion of a highway as defined in section 1 and all or any portion of any other highway, whether designated under section 15 to be a highway or not, that is under the administration or control of the Minister and is outside the territorial limits of a local government, whether or not the soil and freehold on, under or over which the highway is situated are vested in the Crown in right of the Province, but does not include(route)
(a) a highway under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, or
(b) a highway exempted specifically or as a member of a class by regulation;
“person” means the Province, a provincial Crown corporation, an agent of the Crown, a public utility, another corporation, a partnership, a society or an individual;(personne)
“roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, including the shoulder, whether paved or not, and in the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term “roadway” refers to any such roadway separately but not to all such roadways collectively;(chaussée)
“usage agreement” means a written contract, agreement or other document to which the Crown in right of the Province is a party and in which the Crown in right of the Province gives a person any right to erect or place a building, structure, wire, cable, line, pole, track, pipe, main, conduit, device, equipment or other object or thing on, over, under, across or along, a highway, to repair or maintain such an object or thing, to excavate, mine or quarry under, across, through or along a highway, to use any portion of a highway for recreational purposes or to gain access to, to pass over or under or to operate any form of transportation or carry out any other activity on, over, under, across or along, a highway, but does not include any permit, licence or permission issued or granted under this Act, the Motor Vehicle Act, the Off-Road Vehicle Act or the regulations under any of them, other than permission granted under section 41 or consent given under section 42 by the Minister before the commencement of this subsection.(accord d’usage)
44.1(2)If a conflict exists between this section or a regulation made in relation to it, and any other provision of this Act or another Act of the Legislature, whether public or private, or any order, regulation, contract, agreement or usage agreement made under this or any other Act, this section and the regulations made in relation to it prevail.
44.1(3)The Minister has the exclusive right to determine what, if any, use may be made of any highway or the land on, under or over which any highway is situated and may, by regulation, establish fees payable for any right to use any such land or any highway.
44.1(4)Every usage agreement shall, on the commencement of this subsection, be deemed
(a) to contain a term requiring the parties to the agreement to pay any fee established by regulation in relation to any right respecting a highway that is given to the party in the agreement, and
(b) in all other respects to be affirmed.
44.1(5)Land shall be deemed not to be injuriously affected by reason only that a highway to which subsection (3) or (4) applies is situated on, under or over it and no compensation shall be paid to any person who has the benefit of or is a party to a contract, agreement or usage agreement in relation to land or a highway, or who has any other interest in land or a highway, by reason only that
(a) the land or any portion of it is, or is adjacent to, land where such a highway is situated, or
(b) immediately before the date of the commencement of this subsection, the person was the owner of land, or had the benefit of or was a party to a contract, agreement or usage agreement in relation to a highway, and is affected in any manner by the operation of subsection (3) or (4).
44.1(6)No action, application or other proceeding lies or shall be instituted against the Minister or the Crown in right of the Province as a result of the enactment of this section or the regulations made in relation to it.
44.1(7)No contractual or other claim, grounds, remedy or defence shall be available to or exercised by a party to a usage agreement, other than the Minister or the Crown in right of the Province, as a result of the enactment of this section or the regulations made in relation to it.
44.1(8)No court or person shall construe, claim or deem a usage agreement to be terminated, rescinded, repudiated, frustrated or amended as a result of the enactment of this section or the regulations made in relation to it, other than as deemed amended to contain a term under subsection (4).
44.1(9)The Minister may, in accordance with the regulations and in the Minister’s discretion, issue highway usage permits, permitting the holder and persons acting under the authority of the permit
(a) to erect or place a building, structure, wire, cable, line, pole, track, pipe, main, conduit, device, equipment or other object or thing on, over, under, across or along, a highway, to repair or maintain such an object or thing or to excavate, mine or quarry under, across, through or alongside a highway,
(b) to use, repair and maintain any portion of a highway for recreational purposes, or
(c) to use a highway for any other purpose established in the regulations.
44.1(10)The Minister may, in the Minister’s discretion
(a) amend, transfer, suspend, cancel, renew and reinstate highway usage permits in accordance with the regulations, and
(b) at any time and in accordance with any applicable regulations that may have been made, impose any terms and conditions in relation to the issuance, amendment, transfer, suspension, cancellation, renewal or reinstatement of, highway usage permits that the Minister considers appropriate.
44.1(11)No compensation shall be paid to any person by the Minister or the Crown in right of the Province in relation to
(a) the refusal to issue, amend, transfer, renew or reinstate a highway usage permit or an exemption, or
(b) the suspension or cancellation of any highway usage permit or exemption.
44.1(12)No person required under the regulations to hold or be acting under the authority of a highway usage permit in order to use a highway or the land on, under or over a highway shall use that highway or land unless doing so under and in accordance with the required highway usage permit.
44.1(13)No person shall use a highway or the land on, under or over a highway in contravention of this Act, the regulations, or the terms and conditions imposed in, by or in relation to any contract, agreement, usage agreement, highway usage permit or exemption.
44.1(14)The Minister may refuse use of any highway or the land on, under or over a highway to any person who is in contravention of subsection (12) or (13).
44.1(15)If a person has erected or placed or is erecting or placing any object or thing on, over, under, across or along a highway, has repaired or maintained or is repairing or maintaining such an object or thing, has excavated, mined or quarried or is excavating, mining or quarrying under, across, through or along a highway or has used or is otherwise using a highway, in contravention of subsection (12) or (13), the Minister may by order direct that any such object or thing be disassembled, demolished, modified, relocated or removed and that the highway and the land on, over or under which the highway is situated be restored to its original condition or to such other condition as the Minister directs.
44.1(16)Subsections 39(4) to (8) apply with the necessary modifications to an order made under subsection (15).
44.1(17)If a person served with an order under subsection (15) fails to comply fully with the order, the Minister may apply by way of notice of application to a judge of The Court of King’s Bench of New Brunswick for one or more of the following orders:
(a) an order prohibiting the erecting, placing, repairing, maintaining, excavating, mining, quarrying or other use;
(b) an order directing the disassembly, demolition, modification, relocation or removal of the object or thing by and at the expense of the person to whom the order relates;
(c) an order directing that the highway and the land on, over or under which the highway is situated be restored to its original condition or to such other condition as the judge directs, by and at the expense of the person to whom the order is directed; and
(d) such other order as is considered necessary in order to enforce the provisions of this section.
44.1(18)Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving the Minister authority to control, restrict, charge fees or require a highway usage permit, in relation to the ordinary passage of pedestrian or vehicular travel from one place to another along a roadway.
44.1(18.1)Subsections (9) to (12) do not apply to the granting of a lease or licence under subsection 5(2), to persons acting under such a lease or licence or to the lands in relation to which such a lease or licence is granted.
44.1(19)Where an offence under subsection (12) or (13) continues for more than one day,
(a) the minimum fine that may be imposed is the minimum fine set by the Provincial Offences Procedure Act multiplied by the number of days during which the offence continues, and
(b) the maximum fine that may be imposed is the maximum fine set by the Provincial Offences Procedure Act multiplied by the number of days during which the offence continues.
44.1(20)The Crown in right of the Province is bound by the provisions of this section and the regulations made in relation to it.
1996, c.41, s.6; 1997, c.50, s.20; 2003, c.7, s.37; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2010, c.31, s.57; 2012, c.16, s.5; 2022, c.26, s.12; 2023, c.17, s.105
Duty of public utility respecting removal of obstructions
45(1)A company, a telephone or a telegraph company, an electric railway or other electric company, and a steam railway, oil, gas, water or public service company shall remove any of its poles and wires connected therewith or any of its tracks, switches, spurs or oil, gas or water pipes, mains or conduits or other objects when, in the opinion of the Minister, they constitute an obstruction in a highway or interfere with the construction, improvement, maintenance, repair or use thereof.
45(2)If in his opinion any obstruction or interference as referred to in subsection (1) is caused, the Minister may cause a notice to be served upon the company causing the same directing the removal of the obstruction or interference, and if such company does not within five days from the service of such notice proceed to remove the obstruction or interference and complete the removal thereof within a reasonable time, the Minister, by his engineers, agents and workmen may remove the obstruction or interference and the expenses thereby incurred may be recovered by action in the name of the Minister.
45(3)This section does not prejudice the right of any such company to be or remain within the limits of a highway by virtue of any authority or franchise granted to it and any such authority or franchise shall extend to all highways within the meaning of this Act, and to all watercourses, and the Crown is bound by this subsection.
45(4)If a highway to which subsection (1), (2) or (3) relates is under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, the New Brunswick Highway Corporation shall have the power and authority of the Minister under that subsection or those subsections, as the case may be, in relation to that highway and that subsection or those subsections, as the case may be, apply with the necessary modifications.
1968, c.5, s.43; 1997, c.63, s.7
Warning respecting construction on highway
46A company, a telephone or a telegraph company, an electric railway or other electric company, or a steam railway, oil, gas, water or public service company, while engaged in the construction, repair or maintenance of works lawfully erected along, over or under a highway may place, maintain and display upon or in view of any highway signs, signals, markings or devices warning persons using the highway of the presence on the highway of the workmen engaged in such undertaking.
1968, c.5, s.44
Provincial-municipal highways
2022, c.26, s.13
47(1)Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may construct, reconstruct, repair and maintain a provincial-municipal highway, including storm drainage systems, catch basins, curbs and gutters associated with the highway, but shall not carry out or provide for
(a) flushing or sweeping of the highway,
(b) cleaning or maintenance of catch basins, storm sewers or drainage ditches, or
(c) lighting, traffic signals, sidewalks, boulevards or tree planting.
47(2)Subject to this Act, a local government may carry out or provide for the services listed in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c).
47(3)In addition to the services under subsection (1), the Minister and a local government may carry out or provide for the services prescribed by regulation.
47(4)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing the services in relation to a provincial-municipal highway; and
(b) specifying the roles and responsibilities of the Minister and a local government in relation to carrying out or providing for the services.
1968, c.5, s.45; 1973, c.44, s.6; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.14
Repealed
48Repealed: 1976, c.29, s.7
1969, c.38, s.6; 1970, c.25, s.1; 1973, c.44, s.7, 10; 1976, c.29, s.7
Maintenance of municipal highways
Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.15
2022, c.26, s.15
49Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.16
1973, c.44, s.8; 1993, c.58, s.1; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.16
Maintenance agreements with local governments
2022, c.26, s.17
49.1(1)In this section
“summer maintenance” means(entretien d’été)
(a) pavement patching,
(b) curb and gutter maintenance,
(c) shoulder maintenance,
(d) replacement of culverts under a highway,
(e) guide rail, guide post and delineator maintenance,
(f) grading,
(g) dust control on unpaved highways, and
(h) such other activities as are specified by regulation;
“winter maintenance” means(entretien d’hiver)
(a) ploughing of snow from curb to curb, from edge of pavement to edge of pavement, or shoulder to shoulder, as the case may be,
(b) salting, sanding and scarifying,
(c) patching pot holes, and
(d) such other activities as are specified by regulation.
49.1(2)The Minister may enter into an agreement with a local government providing that either winter maintenance or summer maintenance, or both, shall be performed
(a) for a provincial highway of any classification referred to in paragraph 14(b) or a provincial-municipal highway classified as an arterial highway or a collector highway,
(i) by the Minister, or
(ii) by the local government and paid for by the Minister in accordance with the regulations under subsection (2.1),
(b) for a local government road or street,
(i) by the local government, or
(ii) by the Minister and paid by the local government in accordance with the regulations under subsection (2.1), and
(c) for a provincial-municipal highway classified as a local highway, by the Minister or the local government and paid for equally by the Minister and the local government.
49.1(2.1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) providing formulae for determining the rate of compensation to be paid under an agreement made under subsection (2) that provides for a payment for maintenance services for a highway referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or for a road or street referred to in paragraph (2)(b), and
(b) allowing the Minister to determine the lane kilometrage of those highways, roads or streets.
49.1(3)When winter maintenance or summer maintenance is performed on a provincial-municipal highway classified as a local highway but no agreement has been entered into under subsection (2), the cost of the maintenance services shall be paid for equally by the Minister and the local government in accordance with this section.
49.1(4)The Minister shall
(a) determine the lane kilometrage of provincial-municipal highways classified as local highways in respect of which the cost of maintenance services is paid for equally by the Minister and the local government, and
(b) set the kilometrage rates to be paid by the Minister and a local government under this section for winter maintenance and for summer maintenance on provincial-municipal highways classified as local highways.
49.1(5)Where a conflict exists between this section and a provision of an agreement entered into by the Minister under this or any other Act in respect of summer maintenance or winter maintenance, this section prevails.
49.1(6)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations specifying activities for the purposes of paragraph (h) of the definition “summer maintenance” and paragraph (d) of the definition “winter maintenance”.
49.1(7)Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.18
1993, c.58, s.2; 1996, c.41, s.7; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.18
Power of local government respecting winter fences
2022, c.26, s.19
50A local government may within its jurisdiction and without compensating the owners of lands affected thereby,
(a) enter upon any lands adjacent to a highway between the first day of November and the first day of May in the year immediately following and remove therefrom any fence likely to cause snow drifts upon a highway, and any fence so removed shall be replaced thereon not later than the first day of June immediately following, and
(b) enter upon any lands adjacent to a highway and erect and maintain thereon and remove therefrom snow fences.
1968, c.5, s.46; 2022, c.26, s.20
Power of Minister to repair local government bridge
2022, c.26, s.21
51Upon the request of any local government, the Minister may construct or repair any bridge within the territorial limits of that local government.
1968, c.5, s.47; 1973, c.44, s.9; 2005, c.7, s.34; 2022, c.26, s.22
Resource access road – classification
52The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council and having regard to access to and development of natural resources, may classify any road, public or private, or any highway or portion thereof as a resource access road.
1968, c.5, s.48
Resource access road – supervision, acquisition, agreements
53(1)The Minister shall have the general supervision of construction and maintenance of resource access roads and of all public money allotted for the construction, maintenance and acquisition thereof.
53(2)The Minister may acquire land by purchase, expropriation or otherwise for a resource access road.
53(3)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may enter into an agreement with any person or the Government of Canada or any department thereof concerning the acquisition, financing, construction, maintenance or control of resource access roads.
1968, c.5, s.49
Resource access road – soil rights
54(1)The classification of a road or highway as a resource access road does not affect the soil rights in the road or highway that were in existence immediately prior to the classification of the road or highway as a resource access road.
54(2)Where the Minister has classified a road as a resource access road but has not acquired the soil rights thereto, he shall compensate the owner of the land to the extent so affected.
1968, c.5, s.50
Resource access road – restrictions
55(1)The Minister, by order, may restrict the use of a resource access road having regard to
(a) fire prevention,
(b) public safety,
(c) road conditions,
(d) industrial and commercial operations, and
(e) sport fishing and hunting.
55(2)The Minister may cause notice of the contents of an order made under subsection (1) to be posted on a resource access road or published in a newspaper having general circulation in the area affected by the order but failure to post or publish such notice shall not derogate from the effect of such order.
55(3)The restrictions imposed by the Minister on the use of resource access roads may be by any one or all of the following methods:
(a) by causing one or more resource access roads to be closed to travel for a specified period of time,
(b) by restricting the use of one or more resource access roads to any person or class of persons for a specified period of time,
(c) by specifying the maximum gross weights that may be carried by various types of motor vehicles using a resource access road, or
(d) by declaring any section of the Motor Vehicle Act applicable to such resource access roads as he specifies.
55(4)Subject to subsections (1) and (2), a resource access road may be used by the general public.
1968, c.5, s.51
Resource access road – provisions re highways
56The provisions of this Act relating to highways apply mutatis mutandis to resource access roads.
1968, c.5, s.52
Resource access road – Motor Vehicle Act
57Subject to section 55, the Motor Vehicle Act does not apply to resource access roads.
1968, c.5, s.53
Provincial dump – definitions
58In sections 59 to 62.1,
“car dump” means a site designated by the Minister for the disposal of junk;(dépotoir de voitures)
“junk” means unserviceable, discarded or junked motor vehicles or other machinery, and includes bodies, engines or other component parts thereof;(rebuts)
“Minister” means the Minister of Local Government and includes any person designated by the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf;(Ministre)
“owner” means the owner, lessee, occupant or person having the management of land;(propriétaire)
“preparation for use” includes the construction and maintenance of the site and of roads deemed necessary by the Minister within, or giving access to, a provincial dump;(préparation à l’usage)
“provincial dump” means an area established under section 60 for the deposit of junk and refuse and includes a car dump and a rural dump;(dépotoir provincial)
“rural dump” means a site designated by the Minister for the disposal of refuse;(dépotoir rural)
“refuse” means useless matter or discarded material, including ashes, garbage and domestic and industrial waste other than sewage but does not include junk.(déchets)
1968, c.5, s.54; 2000, c.26, s.153; 2006, c.16, s.83; 2012, c.39, s.77; 2020, c.25, s.60; 2023, c.40, s.19
Provincial dump – administration
58.1The Minister shall administer sections 58 to 62.1 and may designate persons to act on the Minister’s behalf.
2000, c.26, s.153
Provincial dump – Local Governance Act
59Sections 58 to 62.1 do not apply to any municipality incorporated or continued under the Local Governance Act.
1968, c.5, s.55; 2000, c.26, s.153; 2017, c.20, s.81
Provincial dump – powers and duties of Minister
60The Minister
(a) shall have general supervision of the acquisition, preparation for use, maintenance and operation of provincial dumps and all public money allotted therefor,
(b) may designate a provincial dump site to be a car dump or rural dump, or both, and
(c) may purchase, lease or otherwise acquire land for use as a provincial dump.
1968, c.5, s.56
Provincial dump – junk or refuse
61(1)No person shall place or deposit or permit the placing or depositing of any junk or refuse on his own land or the land of any other person, with or without the consent of that other person, in such manner as to
(a) be unsightly,
(b) create a fire hazard,
(c) be detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the public, or
(d) being in a watershed area, be apt to pollute any water of that water shed.
61(2)No person shall place or deposit any junk or refuse in a provincial dump except in accordance with this Act.
1968, c.5, s.57; 1998, c.6, s.8
Provincial dump – order of judge
62(1)Repealed: 1990, c.61, s.61
62(2)In addition to a penalty imposed in relation to a violation of section 61, a judge of the Provincial Court
(a) may order a person convicted of an offence under section 61 to do any act or thing necessary to remove or otherwise clean up the junk or refuse placed or deposited in violation of that section, and
(b) may prescribe a time limit within which the order mentioned in paragraph (a) shall be carried out.
62(3)A person who fails to comply with an order issued under subsection (2) commits an offence.
1968, c.5, s.58; 1972, c.34, s.7, 8; 1990, c.61, s.61
Provincial dump – regulations
62.1The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may make regulations governing the use of provincial dumps.
2000, c.26, s.153
Penalty clauses in contracts of Minister
63(1)A contract to which the Minister is a party, for the construction or maintenance of a highway that specifies a date by which or a time within which any work shall be done or material shall be supplied may also provide for a penalty for failure to complete the work or supply the material by that date or within that time.
63(2)The penalty referred to in subsection (1) shall be
(a) the actual loss or damages suffered by the Crown because of the failure, or
(b) a stipulated sum for each day that the work is unfinished or the material not supplied in full after the date or time agreed upon, regardless of actual loss or damages;
or both (a) and (b).
63(3)Where a contract for the construction or maintenance of a highway provides for a penalty as mentioned in this section, the amount of the penalty may, to the extent thereof, be withheld from any money payable by the Crown under the contract.
1968, c.5, s.59; 1998, c.6, s.9
Power to remove building from highway right-of-way
64(1)The Minister, upon giving thirty days notice in writing by registered mail to the owner of a building lying within the right of way of a highway may, upon the expiration of the thirty day period, remove that building from the right of way if the building is required to be removed due to highway reconstruction or maintenance.
64(2)The Minister may remove a building under subsection (1) by
(a) causing it to be moved to an area outside the highway right of way, or
(b) where the structure of the building has deteriorated to the point where it is impractical to cause it to be moved, by demolishing it.
64(3)No compensation shall be paid under section 24 where the owner of a building made subject to this section has been or may be compensated therefor upon the acquisition by the Crown of all or a portion of that owner’s land containing all or a portion of that building.
1968, c.5, s.60
Control line on arterial or collector highway
65(1)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may make regulations with respect to arterial highways or collector highways designating a control line on either or both sides of such portions of those highways he deems necessary.
65(2)A control line established under subsection (1) on any side of an arterial highway or collector highway shall not be further from the centre of the right of way than one hundred eighty metres.
65(3)Where an arterial or collector highway has been made subject to subsection (1) no person shall construct or place nearer to that highway than the control line established under subsection (1) any building, erection, structure, storage tank, gasoline pump, driveway, lumber or other article or object other than a fence or sign board, whether above or below the ground, or construct any driveway connecting with such highway.
65(4)The prohibition set out in subsection (3) has effect as and from the registration of the Order in Council made under subsection (1) in the registry office of the county in which the lands lie and the prohibition does not affect existing buildings, erections, structures, storage tanks, gasoline pumps, sign boards, driveways, lumber or other objects lying between the center line of the arterial highway or collector highway and the control line.
65(4.1)An Order in Council made under subsection (1) and filed in the registry office of the county in which the lands lie prior to the commencement of this subsection shall be deemed to be registered.
65(4.2)Where an Order in Council made under subsection (1) is to be registered, it shall be accompanied by the plan or the pages of the plan which pertain, in whole or in part, to lands which lie in the county of registration and to which the Order in Council refers.
65(4.3)A registrar who registers an Order in Council made under subsection (1) shall file the plan or pages of the plan which accompany the Order in Council and shall endorse the filing particulars of the plan or pages of the plan on the Order in Council.
65(4.4)A plan or a page of a plan to which an Order in Council made under subsection (1) refers which
(a) has been filed in the same registry office as the Order in Council has been registered,
(b) pertains, in whole or in part, to lands which lie in that county, and
(c) has been filed prior to the commencement of this subsection,
shall be deemed to be filed in accordance with this section.
65(4.5)For the purposes of this section
“file” includes “register, deposit and record” ;(déposer)
“registrar” means a registrar as defined under the Registry Act.(conservateur)
65(5)Where an offence under subsection (3) continues for more than one day,
(a) the minimum fine that may be imposed is the minimum fine set by the Provincial Offences Procedure Act multiplied by the number of days during which the offence continues, and
(b) the maximum fine that may be imposed is the maximum fine set by the Provincial Offences Procedure Act multiplied by the number of days during which the offence continues.
65(6)The Minister may close up or cause to be closed up any private road, entrance way, or driveway that has been constructed, used, or opened in violation of this section and for such purpose may enter by himself or by his servants, employees, workmen, contractors, or agents, by force if necessary, into and upon any land.
65(7)Notwithstanding subsection (3) upon being satisfied that the public interest is not adversely affected, the Minister may issue a permit, upon such conditions, in such form and for such term as he may prescribe, permitting a person to construct an entrance way onto a highway for which a control line has been designated and he may, in his discretion, cancel any such permit.
65(8)The Minister shall cause to be maintained a record of all permits issued under this section and that record is open to public inspection.
1968, c.5, s.61; 1970, c.25, s.2; 1972, c.34, s.9; 1977, c.M-11.1, s.9; 1980, c.25, s.10; 1986, c.41, s.2; 1990, c.61, s.61
Road not designated remains vested in Crown
66Any public road not included in a designation under section 15 due to error or omission or its being bypassed remains vested in the Crown and may be dealt with under this Act in the same manner as a highway.
1968, c.5, s.62
Delegation by Minister or Lieutenant-Governor in Council
66.1(1)Subject to subsection 5(2), if the Minister or the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is given any specific power, right, duty or responsibility under a provision of this or any other Act of the Legislature or a regulation under such an Act in relation to a highway that is under the administration and control of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation or a project company, that power, right, duty or responsibility may be delegated by regulation to the New Brunswick Highway Corporation, the project company or any other person with whom the New Brunswick Highway Corporation has made an agreement and the regulation may
(a) establish the manner in which the delegate may be directed to exercise the authority,
(b) subject the delegate to any limitations, terms, conditions and requirements, or specify that such limitations, terms, conditions and requirements may be set out in an agreement, and
(c) authorize the delegate to sub-delegate to others the delegated matter, subject to any limitations, terms, conditions and requirements the delegate considers appropriate.
1997, c.50, s.20
Regulations
67(1)The Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, may make regulations
(a) Repealed: 2000, c.26, s.153
(a.1) specifying items which may be dealt with by the Minister under section 13.1;
(b) Repealed: 2022, c.26, s.23
(c) respecting the use of highways;
(c.1) respecting the manner in which vehicles and axles are to be weighed, including adopting by reference a regulation under the Motor Vehicle Act, with any necessary modifications, for that purpose;
(c.2) establishing such standards respecting access to highways that have not been designated to be controlled access highways as the Lieutenant-Governor considers necessary to ensure safety on such highways;
(c.21) prescribing fees payable for the issuance, amendment or renewal of permits referred to in section 34.1;
(c.3) respecting the application for and the issuance of special permits under subsection 36(12) and the terms and conditions applicable to those permits;
(c.31) defining “public utility” for the purposes of section 44.1 and the regulations;
(c.32) respecting the exemption of highways, specifically or by class, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition “highway” in subsection 44.1(1);
(c.33) respecting fees and the calculation of fees payable under usage agreements as provided for in subsection 44.1(4) and in relation to applications for, and the issuance, amendment, transfer, suspension, cancellation, renewal and reinstatement of highway usage permits and exemptions referred to in paragraph (c.32) or (c.35);
(c.34) respecting the application for and the issuance, amendment, transfer, suspension, cancellation, renewal and reinstatement of highway usage permits;
(c.35) respecting the application for and the issuance, amendment, transfer, suspension, cancellation, renewal and reinstatement of exemptions of persons, specifically or by class, from the requirement
(i) to obtain a highway usage permit under section 44.1, or
(ii) to pay a fee referred to in paragraph (c.33);
(c.36) establishing or delegating to the Minister the authority to establish terms and conditions, or grounds, upon which highway usage permits, or exemptions referred to in paragraph (c.32) or (c.35), may be refused, issued, amended, transferred, held, suspended, cancelled, renewed or reinstated;
(c.37) respecting the expiry dates of highway usage permits, or exemptions referred to in paragraph (c.32) or (c.35);
(c.38) respecting insurance coverage or the posting of security as a condition of obtaining, continuing to hold or having amended, renewed, transferred or reinstated a highway usage permit;
(c.4) prescribing fees payable for special permits issued under subsection 36(12);
(c.5) prescribing fees payable for permits referred to in section 39;
(c.6) respecting the designation of a person as a utility for the purposes of section 39;
(c.7) respecting the delegation under section 66.1 of a power, right, duty or responsibility of the Minister or the Lieutenant-Governor in Council in relation to a highway;
(d) generally for the better administration of this Act.
67(1.1)Regulations made under paragraphs (1)(c.31) to (c.38) may be retroactive in their operation to April 1, 1996, or any date after April 1, 1996.
67(2)Repealed: 1983, c.8, s.15
1968, c.5, s.64; 1977, c.26, s.2; 1980, c.25, s.11; 1981, c.31, s.5; 1983, c.8, s.15; 1986, c.41, s.3; 1987, c.25, s.2; 1989, c.56, s.4, 4.1; 1994, c.30, s.3; 1996, c.41, s.8; 1997, c.50, s.20; 1997, c.63, s.8; 1998, c.6, s.10; 2000, c.26, s.153; 2022, c.26, s.23
Land constituting highway
68Lands that are acquired under this Act or under the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act for any purpose relating to a highway, whether directly or indirectly, by purchase or expropriation, except any portion of those lands lying outside the right-of-way of the highway, constitute a highway for the purposes of this Act, including all lands that are intended by the Minister to be or are the subject of a usage agreement, a highway usage permit, or a lease or licence granted under subsection 5(2), unless the context indicates otherwise or unless the highway is referred to in a provision that is in conflict with another provision of this Act or with a provision of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act or the regulations under either of them.
1968, c.5, s.64; 1995, c.N-5.11, s.41; 1997, c.50, s.20
Offences and penalties
69(1)A person commits an offence who
(a) erects, places, puts or maintains any building, structure, gasoline pump, lumber, logs, stones, refuse, snow or other encumbrance or obstruction over or upon any highway,
(b) without authority of law, erects, raises or maintains any dam, pier or other obstruction in any river or stream, which causes the waters of such river or stream to overflow any highway and obstruct or interfere with the passage over or along such highway,
(c) alters any highway, or fills up or obstructs any ditch, water course or drain constructed for the purpose of carrying off water from a highway,
(d) in using a plough, harrow or cultivator, or by any other means, disturbs the soil within one metre of any highway ditch,
(e) in any manner, except in the reasonable use of the highway, breaks the shoulder of or otherwise damages a highway,
(f) defaces, destroys or removes any traffic control device,
(g) damages or defaces any highway, bridge or culvert,
(h) wilfully hinders or interrupts any officer, engineer or agent acting under the authority of the Minister in the lawful exercise of his duties,
(i) Repealed: 1990, c.61, s.61
(j) Repealed: 1990, c.61, s.61
69(2)The owner of a vehicle shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be guilty of any violation of this Act committed by any person operating or in charge of the vehicle and involving the weight of the vehicle including any load or the weight of the vehicle per axle or combination of axles of the vehicle, as the case may be.
69(3)An owner charged with a violation under subsection (2) may be charged as the principal offender but the information or the ticket and notice of prosecution shall show that the charge is laid under that subsection.
1968, c.5, s.65; 1977, c.M-11.1, s.9; 1990, c.22, s.24; 1990, c.61, s.61; 1998, c.6, s.11; 2021, c.11, s.3
Idem
70(1)A person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of the regulations commits an offence.
70(2)A person who violates or fails to comply with a provision of this Act that is listed in Column I of Schedule A commits an offence.
70(3)For the purposes of Part II of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act, each offence listed in Column I of Schedule A is punishable as an offence of the category listed beside it in Column II of Schedule A.
1968, c.5, s.66; 1972, c.34, s.10; 1990, c.61, s.61
Immunity for liability in nuisance
2021, c.11, s.4
70.01The Minister shall not be liable in an action in nuisance, if the damage is the result of
(a) water overflowing from a water or wastewater system, drain, ditch or watercourse due to excessive snow, ice, mud or rain,
(b) the construction, operation or maintenance of a system or facility for the distribution of water or for the collection, conveyance, treatment or disposal of wastewater, storm water or both,
(c) the alteration of a highway, or
(d) the filling up or obstruction of a ditch, water course or drain constructed for the purpose of carrying off water from a highway.
2021, c.11, s.4
Repealed
70.1Repealed: 1990, c.22, s.24
1986, c.41, s.4; 1987, c.25, s.3; 1990, c.22, s.24; 1998, c.6, s.12
Repealed
71Repealed: 2010, c.31, s.57
1968, c.5, s.67; 1976, c.29, s.8; 2010, c.31, s.57
SCHEDULE A
Column I
Section
Column II
Category of Offence
  
19..............
C
31(3)..............
C
34(3)..............
E
36(7)..............
E
36(8)..............
E
37(3)..............
E
37(5)..............
E
39(2)..............
F
39.1(1)..............
E
43(2)..............
C
43(3)..............
B
43(4)..............
E
44.1(12)..............
H
44.1(13)..............
H
61(1)(a)..............
C
61(1)(b)..............
F
61(1)(c)..............
F
61(1)(d)..............
F
62(3)..............
F
65(3)..............
C
69(1)(a)..............
E
69(1)(b)..............
E
69(1)(c)..............
E
69(1)(d)..............
E
69(1)(e)..............
E
69(1)(f)..............
E
69(1)(g)..............
E
69(1)(h)..............
E
70(1)..............
B
1989, c.56, s.4.2; 1990, c.61, s.61; 1994, c.30, s.3; 1996, c.41, s.9; 1998, c.6, s.13
N.B. This Act is consolidated to December 13, 2023.