{"id":168,"date":"2023-01-29T17:37:23","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T22:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/landuseplanninginbc\/chapter\/__unknown__-10\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T11:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T15:46:21","slug":"subsurface_property_rights","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/landuseplanninginbc\/chapter\/subsurface_property_rights\/","title":{"raw":"Subsurface Property Rights","rendered":"Subsurface Property Rights"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn British Columbia (BC), the purchase of Crown land by a private landowner usually involves the exclusive transfer of surface rights.\u00a0 Subsurface rights, including access to minerals, natural gas, and petroleum resources, are retained by the province for disposition to individual prospectors or corporations.\u00a0 Rights to access these resources are referred to as subsurface property rights.\r\n\r\nLand use policy in BC is guided by an over-arching principle that mining is the best possible use of Crown land.[footnote]Campbell, Karen. \"Undermining Our Future: How Mining\u2019s Privileged Access to Lands Harms People and the Environment.\" West Coast Environmental Law (2005): 3.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This land use policy regime is described as a \u201cfree entry\u201d system, which will be explained in this learning module. \u00a0In September, 2023, the BC Supreme Court ruled that the province's mining permit system\u2014the Free Entry system\u2014is not in compliance with the government's duty to consult Indigenous groups.\u00a0 This Court decision is discussed below.\r\n
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