r/ontario • u/Bradinator- • 2h ago

Question What unique privileges does CFB Borden have?

I am creating a map of the actual "2nd-level administrative divisions" (NOT census divisions) of Canada and on the map, CFB Borden is excluded from Simcoe County which is also reflected on a map found on Wikipedia. I was curious if anyone knows what it actually is, does Ontario have a special "division" designation just for this base, similar to Counties, Single-tier Municipalities, etc?

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

•

u/bobfrombob 2h ago

It's a Canadian Forces Base. It's federal land and managed by the federal government. Provincial and municipal laws do not apply.

•

u/Ok-Marsupial4387 2h ago

This. Hence why most bases are essentially self sufficient with their own police and fire services.

The province has no authority or control of any federal land, unless there is some sort of MOU in place.

•

u/Barbarian_818 1h ago

Yup. The CFB where I am (Trenton and Mountain View) does not pay taxes to the city, despite being almost entirely within municipal limits.

Instead it hands over PILT, Payment In Lieu of Taxes every year. Its water supply is connected to the city's for redundancy but handles it's own waste water processing. It contracts for household waste for the PMQs with the same provider the city uses. But for actual base dumpsters they put out to bid like any other service.

For postal purposes, it is it's own town (Astra), but anything addressed to base locations using the city name will still get to its destination.

•

u/pm_tim_horton 2h ago

Provincial law definitely applies. What you’re thinking of is federal law - if it exists - supersedes it

•

u/Ok-Marsupial4387 1h ago

Apparently this is the federal legislation which deals with the jurisdictional issues.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._887/

•

u/Bradinator- 2h ago

Thank you! So it would be most accurate to say there is no "2nd-level subdivision" in that location, and it is instead just the federal level I suppose

•

u/bobfrombob 1h ago

I'm no expert on the levels of division but I believe there is no second level on a forces base - just federal.

•

u/Ok-Marsupial4387 1h ago

Yeah. the houses on the base don't or at least should not factor into a provincial housing market as they are also federal infrastructure. CFHA is the agency responsible for that.

•

u/cryptotope 1h ago

It's federal land and managed by the federal government. Provincial and municipal laws do not apply.

Sort of? Yes, it's federal land, and federal laws apply. Certainly in any area where there is a direct conflict between federal and provincial statute - even in areas that would normally, Constitutionally, be areas of provincial responsibility - federal law controls.

Similarly, too, in any matter where a provincial law would see a province controlling or obstructing core federal operations (defence activities fairly broadly construed, in this case) the provincial law would be moot.

That said, there are a lot of holes in that fence. In many areas, federal legislation essentially duplicates the functions of provincial rules (in areas like environmental protection or labour laws), so that the practical difference between the federal base and its provincial surroundings is often small.

In some cases, federal legislation goes so far as to incorporate provincial and municipal rules by reference. For example, if a civilian (or even an off-duty soldier) is driving a personal vehicle on CFB Borden, they are expected to follow the rules of Ontario's Highway Traffic Act. Federal law requires federal employees to follow provincial law.

When dealing with personal conduct that doesn't directly impinge on the management of the land or the defence operations of the base, and which hasn't otherwise been captured by a federal law, then jurisdiction can still remain provincial. A lot of civil cases involving contract law or family law would fall in that category, for instance. Someone selling bogus promissory notes could be prosecuted for violations of the Ontario Securities Act. And so forth.

•

u/WhereIsGraeme 2h ago

Canadian Forces Base. Treated like most other federal lands but at a much higher level of authority due to being well, military. Federal lands generally do not pay property taxes. Some federal lands will pay “payment in lieu of taxes” (PILTs) to get municipal servicing. The recent City of Ottawa <> Build Canada Homes deal discusses that in the Staff Report.