George S. Cumming

The Lieutenant-Governor in Council of British Columbia referred a constitutional question to the British Columbia Court of Appeal regarding the ownership of the seabed and subsoil covered by the waters between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island (including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Strait of Georgia, Johnstone Strait, and Queen Charlotte Strait).

The Court of Appeal held that the lands were the property of the Province.

The Attorney General of Canada appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the 1866 Imperial Act uniting the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia defined the western boundary as the Pacific Ocean and the southern boundary as the territories of the United States, which historically included the waters and submerged lands in question.

Therefore, the seabed was part of the Colony of British Columbia when it entered Confederation in 1871 and remains the property of the Province.

The appellant was injured when his bicycle hit a pothole on a municipal road.

He sued the municipality for negligence.

The trial judge found the municipality liable for failing to maintain a constant inspection system.

The Court of Appeal reversed this decision.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, holding that under the Municipal Act, the municipality had the power but not the duty to maintain highways.

The frequency of road inspections was a matter of policy, and absent operational negligence in carrying out that policy, the municipality could not be held liable.