Formal Assertion of Prescriptive Easement Rights

To the IAAC;

I write in my capacity as an impacted stakeholder within the Upper Beaver Gold Project influence area, as a long-standing user of Beaverhouse Road and Beaverhouse Lake, and as a member of the Misema Blanche River Alliance (MBRA).

Attached for the Agency's consideration, and for filing on the public registry maintained pursuant to s. 105 of the Impact Assessment Act, S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 1,
is the Notice and Assertion of Prescriptive Easement Rights — Beaverhouse Road, Township of Gauthier, District of Timiskaming, Ontario, served today
on Mr. Ian Laplante of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. 

The Notice asserts an absolute and indefeasible right of way under section 31 of the Real Property Limitations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.15, the common-law doctrine of lost
modern grant as restated in Hydro One Networks Inc. v. Shiner, 2023 ONCA 723, and the protections against unauthorized obstruction set out in section 2(1) of the Road Access Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.34, on the strength of more than sixty (60) years of continuous, open, peaceable, and as-of-right use.

This filing is directly relevant to the Agency's ongoing review of the Project. The proponent's proposal to substitute the historical Beaverhouse Road / Beaverhouse Lake access with a new Fork Lake access and landing area engages effects on existing rights, public access, and the use of lands and waters that fall squarely within the factors the Agency must consider under section 22 of the Impact Assessment Act — including effects on the rights of Indigenous peoples, the health, social, and economic conditions of affected communities, and any change to the environment occurring on federal lands or in connection with federal navigable waters. 

Despite repeated requests, Agnico Eagle has not addressed the easement rights of landowners and regional users of Beaverhouse Lake, and no substantive disclosure has been made of the surveys, registered plans, easements, road-use agreements, or instruments on which the proponent relies to assert control over the travelled portion of Beaverhouse Road or the proposed replacement route. 

I respectfully submit that the public registry, and any forthcoming Impact Statement, would be incomplete without this Notice and the underlying access record on the file.

Accordingly, I request that the Agency: 

(i) post this cover letter and the attached Notice on the public registry for the Upper Beaver Gold Project as a stakeholder submission;

 
(ii) place the easement issue on the Agency's record as a matter requiring the proponent's written response and substantive consideration in the impact assessment; and

 
(iii) confirm in writing the registry document number and date of posting. All rights, remedies, and defences are expressly reserved, including under the Impact Assessment Act, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. N-22, the Mining Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.14, and any applicable Crown duty to consult and accommodate.

Thank you for your time on this matter.

Yours truly,

Simon Jutras

Impacted Stakeholder — Upper Beaver Gold Project Influence Area
Misema Blanche River Alliance (MBRA)
Larder Lake, Ontario

Thank you for your time on this matter.