Proposed Regulation Under the Public Lands Act to Allow for Travel on Closed Roads

Deadline for submitting comments is September 21, 2026.

To access land on roads that are closed, individuals need to apply for a Travel Permit. MNR is hoping to modernize certain approvals by making a regulation under the Public Lands Act to allow for travel on closed roads on public lands in certain circumstances to support business and improve service delivery by streamlining approval requirements. MNR is also considering charging a fee to issue a travel permit to individuals who do not meet the proposed exemptions.

To be clear, this does not mean that everyone will be able to access and travel on closed roads. Individuals who do not have an LUP or business that they need to access will be required to apply for a travel permit, where they will likely be issued a fee under these new regulations.

MNR is proposing to allow travel on closed roads, without the need for a travel permit, for the following people in the following situations:

• Anyone who requires access to land that they lease or hold an easement over, or public lands that they have been authorized to use through a valid licence of occupation or land use permit
• Anyone who requires access to private lands they own
• Anyone who requires access to operate a dam under a dam management agreement with the MNR
• Licensed trappers (head trapper and helper trapper) to access their registered trapline area
• Commercial bait harvesters to access their bait management zone
• Sustainable Forest Licence holders and their employees to access their licenced area to conduct forest management
• Mining claim holders and their employees to access their registered mining claim area
• Anyone with a licence to collect fish for scientific purposes to access the waterbody specified in the licence
• Anyone with a Wildlife Scientific Collectors Authorization to access the location specified in the authorization
• Emergency services personnel, including fire, ambulance and police
• Individuals exercising Section 35 rights under the Constitution Act

The people and situations listed above include the most common travel permit requests that the MNR receives and approves today. In addition, MNR is proposing to allow:

• guests or visitors of the individuals listed above to access closed roads if they are accompanied by that person; and
• anyone who is a guest of a commercial outpost camp, wilderness lodge or similar commercial outfitter where access is required to get to their accommodations.

Additional rules would include:

• Travel on a closed road would only be permitted while the applicable licence/instrument/authorization is valid
• Travel on closed roads would only be permitted if required to directly access the area associated with the licence/instrument/authorization. For example, a trapper would only be permitted to access the closed roads required to get to their registered trapline area. They would not be permitted to travel on any other closed road in the province without a permit.
• Those permitted to travel on closed roads would not be permitted to charge their guests a fee to travel on the closed road.
• Individuals must carry with them at all times proof of the licence/instrument/authorization under which access onto the closed road would be allowed. In addition, appropriate documentation must be displayed in any parked vehicle on a closed road. For example, an individual with private property would be required to carry a copy of their deed or a recent tax bill proving ownership of the land.
• Individuals travelling on a closed road must proceed directly to their destination. Stopping on a closed road would not be permitted unless it was an emergency.

NOTO’s Initial Thoughts:

• NOTO understands that this will help reduce the administrative burden for operators who hold LUPs or BMAs on closed roads, as well as their guests.
• We appreciate that the list is comprehensive and that the changes will not provide the general public with access to closed roads without a travel permit.
• MNR must ensure that appropriate enforcement measures are in place and consistently applied.
• We understand that many have concerns surrounding private property land owners and what their guests may do while visiting the area. Under this proposal, guests of private landowners must be escorted by the landowner to the property and must proceed directly to their destination. They will not be permitted to travel and access other areas on the closed road. MNR must ensure this will be enforced.
• Requiring individuals to display a copy of a deed, property tax document, or LUP in a parked vehicle could create concerns around privacy and the security of sensitive information. NOTO is considering recommending alternative methods of verifying authorization, such as allowing property owners and permit holders to register their vehicle licence plates to their permits. This would create a database that MNR enforcement staff could easily access by entering a licence plate number, while eliminating the need for individuals to leave sensitive documentation visible in their vehicles. We would love to hear operators thoughts on this.
• The proposal did not identify a clear process for identifying guests of resource-based tourism (RBT) operators to avoid conflicts with Conservation Officers.
• NOTO’s initial thought is that operators are too busy to escort their guests and that operators could encourage their guests to carry confirmation of their trip to avoid any conflicts with Conservation Officers on closed roads. This is documentation that U.S. guests are required to carry when crossing the border. We would love to hear operators thoughts.
• There is tremendous value in remoteness. While these changes could be positive for tourism, we need to ensure that MNR enforcement will be on the land base to ensure that individuals without authorization are not taking advantage of closed roads.

We will continue to engage with MNR to seek clarification on this proposal. We will share what we hear with members in the coming weeks.