Public Highways
Consolidated act- Citation
- R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c.P-13
- Source
- Unofficial consolidation PDF (justice.gov.nt.ca)
This is an unofficial reading copy parsed from the Department of Justice consolidation PDF above — itself an office consolidation, not an official statement of the law. The authoritative text is in the Revised Statutes of the Northwest Territories, 1988 and the annual Statutes volumes.
- s.1 amended by SNWT 2003,c.22,Sch.D,s.5
- s.1 amended by An Act to Repeal the Settlements Act
- s.1 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2024
- s.3 amended by Tlicho Statutes Amendment Act
- s.4 amended by SNWT 1998,c.40,s.1(2)(b)
- s.11 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010
- s.14 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010
- s.19 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010
- s.20 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2021
- s.21.1 amended by An Act to Amend the Public Highways Act
- s.23 amended by Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2010
- All-terrain Vehicles Act, s.5
- All-terrain Vehicles Act, s.6
- All-terrain Vehicles Act, s.7
- All-terrain Vehicles Act, s.17
- Charter Communities Act, s.90
- Cities, Towns and Villages Act, s.86
- Commissioner's Land Act, s.6.1 → #sec_1
- Deh Cho Bridge Act, s.3
- Hamlets Act, s.88
- Highway Signs Regulations, s.11 → #sec_19
- Motor Vehicles Act, s.1 → #sec_5
- Motor Vehicles Act, s.333 → #sec_5
- Motor Vehicles Act, s.342 → #sec_5
- Motor Vehicles Act, s.349
- Public Airports Act, s.4
- Tlicho Community Government Act, s.82
Definitions
1.In this Act,
"construction" means the construction or reconstruction of a highway and the doing of any other work that is necessary to put a highway in a condition for use by vehicles, but does not include maintenance; (construction)
"council" means the council of a municipal corporation; (conseil)
"highway" means a highway as defined in the Motor Vehicles Act; (route)
"highway authority" means
(a) the Commissioner, in respect of highways subject to the direction, control and management of the Commissioner, or
(b) a municipal corporation, in respect of highways subject to its direction, control and management; (autorité responsable des routes)
"maintenance" means the preservation and repair of a highway and any other work necessary to keep a highway in serviceable condition; (entretien)
"permit" means a permit issued under section 21; (permis)
"primary highway" means a highway or proposed highway designated as a primary highway under subsection 2(1); (route principale)
"roadway" means a roadway as defined in the Motor Vehicles Act; (chaussée)
"traffic" means traffic as defined in the Motor Vehicles Act; (circulation)
"traffic control device" means a sign, signal, light, line, marking or device placed or erected under section 5 for the purpose of regulating, warning or guiding pedestrians or traffic. (dispositif de régulation de la circulation) SNWT 2003,c.22,Sch.D,s.5; SNWT 2011,c.8, s.21; SNWT 2024,c.9,s.25.
CONSTRUCTION AND
MAINTENANCE OF HIGHWAYS
Designation of primary highway
2.(1) The Commissioner may, by order, designate as a primary highway
(a) any existing highway, or
(b) any proposed highway,
and may specify a route number for the primary highway.
(2) In an order under subsection (1), the existing highway or the land to be used for the proposed highway is sufficiently described if its location is indicated on a map attached to the order showing the route of the primary highway.
(3) No order shall be made under subsection (1) in respect of an existing highway or proposed highway within a municipality unless the title to the highway or the land to be used for the proposed highway is vested in Her Majesty.
Control of primary highway
3.Notwithstanding anything in the Charter Communities Act, Cities, Towns and Villages Act, Hamlets Act, Tłı̨chǫ Community Government Act or Motor Vehicles Act, all primary highways are subject to the direction, control and management of the Commissioner. SNWT 2013,c.9,Sch.B,s.7.
Maximum speed limits
4.(1) The Commissioner may establish the maximum speed for vehicles drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power on any highway or class of highway outside a municipality and a primary highway within a municipality and may establish different maximum speed limits for vehicles
(a) of different classes;
(b) being used for particular purposes;
(c) during the day and night;
(d) during different periods of the year;
(e) in different lanes on the same highway; and
(f) on highways under construction or repair or in a state of disrepair.
SNWT 1998,c.40,s.1(2)(a).
(2) Repealed, SNWT 1998,c.40,s.1(2)(b).
Traffic control devices
5.The Commissioner may, with respect to a highway outside a municipality and a primary highway within a municipality,
(a) authorize the placement and erection of traffic control devices that the Commissioner considers necessary; and
(b) provide for the maintenance and repair of traffic control devices.
Delegation
6.The Commissioner may delegate the powers referred to in sections 4 and 5.
Purchase and expropriation of land
7.The Commissioner may, with the consent of a council, purchase or expropriate land within the municipality represented by that council for the purpose of a highway.
Responsibility of highway authority
8.Except as otherwise provided in an agreement made under this Act, each highway authority is responsible for the costs of construction and maintenance of all highways subject to its direction, control and management.
Agreement with Canada
9.The Commissioner may, subject to the terms and conditions that may be agreed upon, enter into agreements with the Government of Canada for the construction and maintenance of highways and ferries.
Agreement with municipal corporation
10.(1) The Commissioner and a municipal corporation may enter into an agreement with respect to a primary highway within the municipality.
(2) An agreement made under subsection (1) may provide for any matter with respect to the construction and maintenance of the primary highway by the Commissioner, including, without limiting the generality of the above,
(a) the construction, maintenance or abandonment of any works or undertakings of the municipal corporation that may directly or indirectly affect the primary highway or the control and regulation of traffic on the primary highway; and
(b) the contribution by the municipal corporation to the Commissioner of a portion of the cost of construction or maintenance of the primary highway.
Provision respecting bylaws in agreement
11.(1) An agreement under section 10 may provide that, as of a specified date, the bylaws of the municipal corporation respecting the control of traffic apply to the primary highway, subject to any restrictions, limitations or conditions on the application of those bylaws that may be set out in the agreement.
(2) Where an agreement under section 10 provides for any matters referred to in subsection (1), any bylaw of the municipal corporation that is, on or after the date specified in the agreement, not in accordance with the agreement, is invalid insofar as it applies to the primary highway. SNWT 2010,c.16, Sch.A,s.33(2),(3).
Agreements with persons
12.The Commissioner may enter into an agreement with any person under which that person agrees to contribute the whole or part of the costs of construction of any traffic interchange, underpass, overpass or any other addition or improvement with respect to a primary highway or a road subject to the direction, control and management of the Commissioner.
CONTROL OF ACCESS AND
ADJACENT DEVELOPMENT
Abrogation of common law
13.(1) A person
(a) is not entitled as of right to any direct access to or from a primary highway from or to any land adjacent to it; and
(b) does not have any right of easement, light, air or view to, from or over a primary highway.
(2) No person is entitled as of right to any compensation solely by reason of the designation of a highway as a primary highway.
Buildings dangerous or unsightly
14.(1) Where, in the opinion of the Commissioner, an unoccupied building, structure, fixture or excavation within 120 m of the centre line of a primary highway is
(a) dangerous to public safety or health because of its ruinous, dilapidated, unsafe or unprotected condition, or
(b) detrimental to the surrounding area because of its unsightly condition,
the Commissioner may make an order with respect to the building, structure, fixture or excavation.
(2) An order made under subsection (1) may require the owner within a period of time, which must not be less than 60 days after the date of the making of the order,
(a) to remedy the condition in the manner and to the extent directed in the order; or
(b) to remove the building, structure or fixture or fill the excavation and level the site of the building, structure or fixture.
(3) Where
(a) the owner does not remedy the condition within the period specified in an order made under subsection (1), or
(b) the building, structure or fixture has not been removed at the expiration of the period specified in the order,
the Commissioner may cause the condition to be remedied to the extent directed in the order or cause the unoccupied building, structure or fixture to be demolished or removed or the excavation to be filled and the site of the building, structure or fixture levelled.
(4) A removal referred to in subsection (3) may be done by way of selling the building, structure or fixture, in which case the net proceeds realized from the sale shall be paid to the owner, mortgagee or other person entitled to the proceeds.
(5) Where
(a) the proceeds from the sale of a building, structure or fixture under subsection (4) are insufficient to meet the costs of the clearance of the site,
(b) no proceeds are realized from the removal of the building, structure or fixture, or
(c) the condition is remedied by the Commissioner,
the Commissioner may charge the costs of the work done against the owner of the land on which the building, structure or fixture was located, and recover the costs as a debt due to the Northwest Territories.
(6) A person who is aggrieved by an order of the Commissioner made under this section may apply to the Supreme Court within 30 days after the date of making the order, and if the Supreme Court is satisfied that
(a) the proper procedure as set out in this section has not been followed, or
(b) the Commissioner has acted in a manner contrary to the intent and meaning of this section,
the Supreme Court may set aside or vary the order of the Commissioner. SNWT 2010,c.16,Sch.A,s.33(4).
Commercial sites
15.When a site used for commercial purposes within 60 m of the centre line of a primary highway ceases to be used for commercial purposes for a period of one year, the site shall not again be used for commercial purposes, unless a permit for that purpose is issued.
Closing of access to
16.(1) The Commissioner may at any time close
(a) any highway providing access to or from a primary highway; or
(b) any means of access between a primary highway and land adjacent to a primary highway.
(2) No person shall enter on or leave a primary highway except by way of
(a) a highway connecting with the primary highway;
(b) a means of access in existence before the designation of a highway as a primary highway under subsection 2(1), and not subsequently closed by the Commissioner under subsection (1);
(c) a means of access authorized by permit; or
(d) a means of access exempted under the regulations from the requirement for a permit.
(3) No person shall construct or maintain a means of access to or from a primary highway unless
(a) a permit authorizes the construction, maintenance and use of it as a means of access;
(b) the regulations exempt the construction and maintenance from the requirement for a permit; or
(c) the means of access was in existence before the designation of the highway as a primary highway under subsection 2(1), and has not been subsequently closed by the Commissioner under subsection (1).
Compensation for loss from closure of access
17.(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), where a means of access was maintained in accordance with this Act and the regulations at the time it is closed under section 16, the Commissioner shall compensate each person owning an estate or interest in the adjacent land as registered owner, life tenant, tenant or purchaser for the loss resulting to the person from the closing of the means of access.
(2) The aggregate amount of compensation payable under subsection (1) in an individual case shall not exceed the difference between
(a) the appraised value of the adjacent land before the closing of the means of access; and
(b) the appraised value of that land after the closing of the means of access.
(3) Where, before its closing, a means of access was maintained pursuant to a permit, the payment of compensation is subject to the terms of the permit.
(4) Where a direct means of access is closed and a service or frontage road is provided, no compensation is payable under this section.
(5) A claim for compensation under this section must be made by filing the claim and particulars of the claim in the office of the Commissioner not later than one year after the date of the closing of the means of access, and the compensation shall be determined as of that date.
(6) Where compensation in respect of the closing of a means of access cannot be agreed upon, the claim shall be dealt with under the same procedure as that applicable to claims for damages for injurious affection under the Expropriation Act except where those provisions are inconsistent with this section.
Signs
18.No person shall erect or display a sign that is
(a) within 500 m of the centre line of a primary highway, and
(b) intended to be viewed by the public using the primary highway,
unless authorized by a permit issued under section 21.
Notice for removal
19.(1) Where a building, structure, fixture, sign or means of access is located or erected on land in contravention of this Act or the regulations or the conditions contained in a permit, the Commissioner may, by notice, require the owner of it to move, remove or alter the building, structure, fixture, sign or means of access as specified in the notice within the time specified in the notice or any extension of that time allowed by the Commissioner.
(2) A notice under subsection (1) must be in writing and must be served on the owner or owners either personally or by mail.
(3) An owner who complies with a notice given under this section is entitled to due compensation from the Northwest Territories for his or her reasonable expense incurred in complying with the notice unless the owner has contravened this Act or the regulations or the conditions contained in a permit.
(4) A claim for compensation under this section must be made by filing the claim and particulars of the claim in the office of the Commissioner not later than one year after the date of service of the notice.
(5) Where compensation cannot be agreed upon, the claim shall be dealt with under the same procedure as that applicable to claims for damages for injurious affection under the Expropriation Act except where those provisions are inconsistent with this section.
(6) Where
(a) notice has been served pursuant to this section, and
(b) the owner or owners fail to comply with the notice within the time specified in the notice, or any extension of that time,
the Commissioner may, in writing, direct any person to enter on the land and do or cause to be done any acts that were required to be done by the notice.
(7) The expenses incurred by the Commissioner under this section may be recovered as a debt due to the Northwest Territories from the owner who failed to comply with the notice, and where the owner or owners fail to comply with the notice, they are jointly and severally liable under this subsection. SNWT 2010,c.16,Sch.A,s.33(4).
Offence
20.(1) Every person who fails to comply with a notice given to him or her under section 19 is guilty of an offence.
(2) On conviction for an offence under subsection (1), the convicting court shall order the person convicted to move, remove or alter, within the period specified in the order, the building, structure, fixture, sign or means of access in respect of which the person is convicted.
(3) A person who fails to comply with an order made pursuant to subsection (2) is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $25 for each day during which the failure to comply with the order continues.
(4) A prosecution for an offence of failing to comply with an order made pursuant to subsection (2) may not be commenced more than two years after the date of service of the notice under section 19.
(5) In a prosecution for an offence of failing to comply with a notice given under section 19, a copy of a notice purporting to be made under section 19 and to be signed by the Commissioner shall be admitted in evidence as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the contents of the notice and the signature of the Commissioner on the notice. SNWT 2022,c.4,s.25.
Permits
21.(1) The Commissioner may issue any permit on the terms and conditions that the Commissioner considers proper and may, in the discretion of the Commissioner, cancel a permit at any time.
(2) A permit may be issued on behalf of the Commissioner by any person authorized by the Commissioner to do so.
GENERAL
Duty to maintain primary highway
21.1.(1) The Minister has a duty to maintain a primary highway.
(2) The Minister has no duty to maintain a highway that is not a primary highway and the Government of the Northwest Territories is not liable for damages incurred by any person because of
(a) a decision to not designate a highway as a primary highway under section 2; or
(b) the state of repair or disrepair of a highway that is not a primary highway.
(3) The expenditure by the Minister of public funds on the maintenance of a highway other than a primary highway does not impose a duty on the Minister to maintain that highway.
(4) The Minister shall ensure that a primary highway is maintained in a reasonable state of repair for the passage of cars and trucks on the travelled surface of the highway
(a) in accordance with maintenance standards for the highway or the class of highway to which the highway belongs; or
(b) in the absence of such standards, having regard to the use, character and location of the highway and the terrain through which it passes.
(5) The Minister has no duty to maintain those portions of a primary highway that are
(a) travelled surfaces that serve as frontage roads or access roads to the principal travelled surface of the highway; or
(b) trails or routes that are used primarily for purposes other than the passage of cars and trucks.
(6) The Government of the Northwest Territories is liable for damages incurred by any person because of the default of the Minister under subsection (4).
(7) Notwithstanding subsection (6), the Government of the Northwest Territories is not liable for loss or damage of a type that is suffered in common by all users of a highway as a result of a default by the Minister in maintaining the highway under subsection (4).
(8) Default under this section shall not be imputed to the Government of the Northwest Territories if the Government proves that it did not have actual or constructive notice of the disrepair of the highway or that it took reasonable means to prevent the disrepair or warn of a hazard.
(9) No action shall be brought against the Government of the Northwest Territories for the recovery of damages caused
(a) by the presence or absence or insufficiency of any wall, fence, guide rail, railing, curb, pavement markings, traffic control device, illumination device or barrier adjacent to or in, along or on the highway;
(b) by or on account of any construction, obstruction or erection or any situation, arrangement or disposition of any earth, rock, tree or other material or thing adjacent to or in, along or on the highway that is not on the travelled surface; or
(c) by the presence of an animal adjacent to, along or on the highway.
(9.1) For greater certainty, subsection (9) does not bar an action brought against the Government of the Northwest Territories for the recovery of damages caused by an alleged failure to maintain in a reasonable state of repair any wall, fence, guide rail, railing, curb, pavement markings, traffic control device, illumination device or barrier adjacent to or in, along or on the highway.
(10) Subject to subsection (11), no action shall be brought against the Government of the Northwest Territories for the recovery of damages under this section unless notice in writing of the claim containing sufficient particulars to identify the occasion out of which the claim arose has been served on or sent by registered letter to the Minister within one year after the happening of the occasion.
(11) The failure to give notice as required by subsection (10) or the insufficiency of notice given under that subsection is not a bar to the action if the judge before whom the action is tried is of the opinion that there is reasonable excuse for the want or insufficiency of the notice and that the Government of the Northwest Territories is not prejudiced in its defence by reason of the want or insufficiency of the notice. SNWT 2021,c.6,s.2.
Drainage of highways
22.The Commissioner shall make adequate provision for
(a) the drainage of all highways subject to the direction, control and management of the Commissioner so as not to affect adversely existing drainage systems on lands adjacent to the highway; and
(b) the disposition of any water collected in a drainage ditch or other artificial depression created by the Commissioner on or contiguous to a highway subject to the discretion, control or management of the Commissioner.
Action under section 22
23.(1) No action shall be brought for the recovery of damages under section 22 unless notice in writing of the claim and of the injuries complained of has been served on or sent by registered letter to the Commissioner within one month after the happening of the injury.
(2) The failure to give or the insufficiency of the notice referred to in subsection (1) is not a bar to the action if the judge before whom the action is tried is of the opinion that there is reasonable excuse for the failure or insufficiency and that the Northwest Territories is not prejudiced in its defence as a result of that. SNWT 2010,c.16,Sch.A,s.33(4).
Temporary closure of highway
24.(1) While any construction or maintenance is in progress on a highway, the highway authority may close to traffic that part of the highway on which the work is being carried out, for the time that it considers necessary.
(2) Every person using a highway closed to traffic in accordance with this section does so at his or her own risk and the highway authority is not liable in any action for damages resulting from the use by a person of a highway so closed to traffic.
(3) Where a highway is closed under this section, no person shall enter or travel on the highway unless he or she
(a) is authorized to do so by the highway authority; or
(b) enters or travels on the highway in the course of his or her duties in connection with the construction or maintenance work being carried out on that highway.
Closure of highway
25.The Commissioner may by order close the whole or any portion of a primary highway.
Remedying dangerous conditions
26.(1) Where a peace officer finds on any land conditions existing that may cause danger to life or to property of any person travelling on a highway, the peace officer may enter on the land with the equipment and persons that the peace officer considers necessary and do any acts necessary to remedy the conditions.
(2) No person is entitled to compensation in respect of damages resulting from any acts done under this section.
Ferries
27.Where the Commissioner considers it expedient to do so, the Commissioner may establish and operate a ferry over or on a river, stream, lake or other body of water, and may do any other works that are necessary for the operation of the ferry.
Obstruction of or damage to highway
28.(1) Every person is guilty of an offence who, without justification or excuse,
(a) obstructs a highway or deposits any material on a highway; or
(b) interferes with, breaks, cuts or otherwise damages a highway.
(2) The court that convicts a person of an offence under paragraph (1)(a) may also order the convicted person to remove any obstruction from, or material deposited on, the highway without delay.
(3) Where a person contravenes subsection (1), the highway authority concerned may remove the obstruction or material deposited on the highway or repair the highway, as the case may be, and recover its expenses incurred in doing so from that person in an action in debt.
(4) Subsection (3) applies whether or not there is a conviction for an offence under subsection (1) or an order under subsection (2).
(5) Where for any reason a detour is required on a highway, the highway authority shall
(a) ensure that directional signs are prominently displayed warning the persons travelling on the highway of the detour; and
(b) take reasonable precautions to ensure that persons using the detour in accordance with the signs may do so with safety.
General punishment
29.Every person who is guilty of an offence under this Act or the regulations for which no specific punishment is provided is liable on summary conviction,
(a) for the first offence, to a fine not exceeding $200 and, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days; and
(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $500 or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days.
Regulations
30.The Commissioner, on the recommendation of the Minister, may make regulations
(a) governing the operation of ferries;
(b) classifying primary highways as freeways, expressways, arterial highways, collector highways and any other class that the Commissioner may establish;
(c) prescribing the terms and conditions applicable to the issuing of permits under this Act;
(d) exempting any class or classes of means of access to or from a primary highway from the requirement for a permit under this Act;
(e) prohibiting, except under the authority of a permit,
(i) the placing, construction, enlarging, extending or erecting or re-erecting of a building, structure, fixture, road, airstrip, excavation or other development, whether on, above or below ground, and
(ii) the display of machinery, motor vehicles or other articles, whether placed for storage or wrecking or for the purposes of advertising or sale, within a distance from a primary highway that is prescribed;
(f) controlling, restricting or prohibiting the erection or display of a sign, notice or advertising device within a distance from a primary highway that the regulations may prescribe;
(g) prohibiting the display of a flashing or rotating light within a distance from a primary highway that the regulations may prescribe; and
(h) in respect of any matters that are necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Act.