TRESPASSING
Neurenberg says if the project had gone ahead, people
travelling to and from their houses on the narrow dead-end
municipal road accessing the development would have been
competing with producers hauling farm equipment along the
same road. The danger of accidents and resulting lawsuits
could have been real.
“It would be a total nightmare for us with large equipment
and 20 more dwellings. The road cannot handle it.”
Neurenberg’s dilemma is not unusual among Manitoba
farmers whose lands are increasingly pressured by urban
sprawl and building developments. Other intrusions involve
unexpected visitors such as hunters, motorcyclists, and
snowmobilers. Most issues, when they occur, are usually
minor and settled amicably. Sometimes, however, they spiral
into disputes and even legal cases.
Which raises the question: Exactly what constitutes
trespassing? The answer is simple.
“Being on privately-owned land without permission,”
explained Richard Buchwald, a partner with Pitblado Law
in Winnipeg. “Entering land that belongs to someone else, or
putting material objects on there without the legal right to do
so. Just dropping in is not trespassing. But if the owner asks
you to leave and you don’t, you are considered trespassing.”
What are farmers’ rights under the law against trespassing?
The same as anybody else’s, says Buchwald, who has represented
producers, input suppliers, grain companies and farm lenders
on legal matters.
“Farmers are as entitled as any other citizens to the full
protection of the law.”
Under Manitoba’s Petty Trespasses Act, if you are on
a farm and the owner tells you to leave, you must do so or
risk being sued for trespass. Refusing to leave could result
in charges.
But it’s not always that cut and dry. Buchwald says if the
owner has not posted “No Trespassing” signs, trespassers can
plead ignorance by claiming they didn’t know it was private
property. While ignorance isn’t necessarily a defence, it can be
if the landowner hasn’t made clear his claim to privacy.
Neurenberg had avoided posting these signs on his land
for fear of possibly antagonizing people – worried there would
be a chance someone might take offense at being ordered off
the property and retaliate by vandalizing farm equipment left
out in the field.
But this summer, he had enough and the sign went up.
Buchwald stresses that “No Trespassing” or “Private
Property” signs are important for farmers if they don’t want
intruders on their land.
“It’s tough to have recourse when you don’t take steps to
exercise it,” he said. “My advice is to post the signs. That in and
of itself ought not to antagonize people.”
Posted signs tell people this is private property and
there should be no trespassing, Buchwald emphasizes. Even
if a person cuts through your field because he doesn’t have
an access road to his cottage, that still has to be done with
permission. And if signs don’t deter trespassers, landowners
should call the authorities.
“Farmers need to take as many steps as they can to give
notice to everyone outside their land that it is private property
and that there is no trespassing,” said Buchwald. “That
operates to inform people that they are not to enter this land
without permission.
“Farmers have to do that in order to enable themselves
of all their legal remedies. That, to me, is the starting point.
It’s up to you to inform people that they have to get off, and
then it’s up to you to contact the police or otherwise take
legal action.”
Damage to Alan Neurenberg’s field and crops from
ATVers. On page15, damage from snowmobilers.
16 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Fall 2019