1998/99 Legislative Session: 3rd Session, 36th Parliament
FIRST READING


The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.


HONOURABLE CATHY McGREGOR
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT,
LANDS AND PARKS

BILL 16 -- 1998

OCCUPIERS LIABILITY AMENDMENT ACT, 1998

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 3 (3) of the Occupiers Liability Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 337, is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) Despite subsection (1), an occupier has no duty of care to a person in respect of risks willingly assumed by that person other than a duty not to

(a) create a danger with intent to do harm to the person or damage to the person's property, or

(b) act with reckless disregard to the safety of the person or the integrity of the person's property.

(3.1) A person who is trespassing on premises while committing, or with the intention of committing, a criminal act is deemed to have willingly assumed all risks and the occupier of those premises is subject only to the duty of care set out in subsection (3).

(3.2) A person who enters any of the categories of premises described in subsection (3.3) is deemed to have willingly assumed all risks and the occupier of those premises is subject only to the duty of care set out in subsection (3) if

(a) the person who enters is trespassing, or

(b) the entry is for the purpose of a recreational activity and

(i) the occupier receives no payment or other consideration for the entry or activity of the person, other than a payment or other consideration from a government or government agency or a non-profit recreational club or association, and

(ii) the occupier is not providing the person with living accommodation on those premises.

(3.3) The categories of premises referred to in subsection (3.2) are as follows:

(a) premises that the occupier uses primarily for agricultural purposes;

(b) rural premises that are

(i) used for forestry or range purposes,

(ii) vacant or undeveloped premises,

(iii) forested or wilderness premises, or

(iv) private roads reasonably marked as private roads;

(c) recreational trails reasonably marked as recreational trails;

(d) utility rights of way and corridors excluding structures located on them.

2 Section 8 (2) is amended

(a) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting the following:

(a) a public highway, other than a recreational trail referred to in section 3 (3.3) (c), , and

(b) by repealing paragraph (d) and substituting the following:

(d) a private road as defined in section 2 (1) of the Motor Vehicle Act, other than a private road referred to in section 3 (3.3) (b) (iv) of this Act.

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Occupiers Liability Act, amends section 3] extends the lower duty of care provided for in section 3 (3) to new categories of entrants as follows:

SECTION 2: [Occupiers Liability Act, amends section 8 (2)] clarifies that the lower duty of care provided for in section 3 (3) applies to


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