The following is a transcript of a letter which was forwarded to
Minister Shelley, Tom Marshall, and Danny Williams regarding the
legality of Bill 45 (Mandatory
Trail Permits).
Outdoor Rights Legal Fund
P. O. Box 174
Main Brook, NL
A0K 3N0
March 24th, 2005
Minister Paul Shelly
Department of Tourism, Culture & Recreation
P. O. Box 8700
Confederation Building
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6
Dear Mr. Shelly:
I recently had the opportunity to review Bill 45 - an amendment to the
Snowmobile Act and its regulations. And upon the advice of legal
counsel, I have arrived at this following conclusion that the trail
sticker fee as set forth in the regulations has all the hallmarks of
being a tax. However, the statute is not a taxing statute and
does not provide for taxation.
Therefore, the mandatory trail sticker fee is an unlawful tax and is
“ultra vires” (beyond the power) the Act.
Therefore, if our members purchase a trail sticker by paying this tax,
they are advised to do so under protest. Thereby laying
foundation for civil law suit to recover all trail sticker fees that
have been paid. If any charges are laid for failure to pay this
tax, based upon the invalidity of the regulation then the Outdoor
Rights Legal Fund reserves the right to commence legal proceedings on
this matter.
I would appreciate a timely reply on this matter. My telephone number
is (709)865-4107
I _______________________________________ do hereby purchase a
Mandatory Trail Permit,
(Name)
as required under Bill 45. However, I consider this to be an
unlawful tax and I reserve any right
to commence legal proceedings to recover the amount remitted as an
individual plaintiff in a
small claim action or as a class action suit against Bill 45.
__________________________________
Signature of Permit Holder