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OCTOBER 9, 2019 | Volume 32 No. 81
WEDNESDAY
TODAY’S WEATHER Sunny and cool High 8 C Low -1 C
NEWS/A12-A14
Turkey
Want to learn how to cook a turkey? Check out pages A17-A20 to see the recipes from Kamloops youngest chefs
GET OUTDOORS
ON THE HUSTINGS Candidate question, Elections Canada info and vandalized signs
How to Cook a
The Outdoor Narrative column debuts in today’s edition
Federal Election
OUTDOORS/A15
Oct. 21, 2019
Claim stake has couple calling for law change JESSICA WALLACE
STAFF REPORTER
jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
DAVE EAGLES/KTW Knutsford couple Marie Reimer and Doug Hallat purchased 50 acres of “peace and quiet” on Simms Road, unaware of a possible gold deposit beneath their private acreage — and a claim staked on it.
A Knutsford couple unaware of a possible gold deposit beneath their private acreage is calling for updates to the B.C. Mineral Tenure Act after a stranger showed up at their home last month to stake a claim — reminding them of the gold rush days of the 1800s. “It’s unbelievable,” Marie Reimer said, objecting to the claim and calling B.C. laws “antiquated. “For hardly any money [to register a claim online], you can go in and wreak havoc on people’s lives.” About two years ago, Reimer and partner Doug Hallat purchased 50 acres of “peace and quiet and tranquility and nature” on Simms Road in Knutsford, located in the southernmost reaches of city limits. Reimer said they moved there to escape the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland. On the afternoon of Sept. 6, however, Reimer and Hallat were sitting outside having a drink when a man drove up and notified the couple he had papers staking a claim to mineral beneath their property’s soil. He told them there are plans to
explore and use the property as a teaching site for Thompson Rivers University geology students. “It was a surprise to me. It completely blindsided, shocked,’” Reimer said. “And then, you know, he starts saying, ‘We’ve given you notice. Now we’re going to start coming onto your property. We’re going to start prospecting.’ He even said, ‘There’s an old gold mine on your property. We want to check it out.’ “And I’m thinking, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. A mine? Here? You’ve got to be kidding me!’” According to provincial laws, however, the unexpected scenario is legal. Kamloops Exploration Group president Jane McCaw said rights to a land’s surface and what lies beneath are generally granted separately. She said the situation is not unique to British Columbia, but practised similarly across the country. “Basically, everyone assumes that when they buy a property, they own what’s underneath it,” McCaw said. “But in very, very rare cases is that true. For the most part, the Crown owns all undersurface rights.” See KEG, A4