Cadastral Surveying is the advising on, reporting on, conducting or supervising the conducting of surveys to establish, locate, define or describe lines, boundaries or corners of parcels of land or land covered with water.

Only a Licensed Ontario Land Surveyor can provide an opinion of Boundaries. See more about this on our AOLS Page

Land which is not privately owned and is under the administration and control of the Government of Ontario. This includes but is not limited to lands administered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry or the Ministry of Transportation (highways). Approximately 87% of Ontario is public land.

The Crown Land Registry Unit of the Office of the Surveyor General, in Peterborough, deals with the grant, sale or lease of Ontario’s public land. The rules governing the administration of these lands are set out under the Public Lands Act. Some of the forms of tenure issued through Crown Land Registry include: patents, leases, Land Use Permits (LUP), License of Occupation (LO), and Crown easements.

The Crown Land Registry Unit is distinct from the Land Registry Office where private land transactions are recorded and maintained. Email the Crown Land Registry Unit at

crownlandregistry@ontario.ca

Any Survey that describes Crown Land, Land owned by the Province or the Federal Government

Crown Survey Records, within the Crown Land Surveys Unit at the Office of the Surveyor General, in Peterborough, manages Ontario’s survey records. Survey records are indexed in the Land Index System (LIS - NDMNRF’s digital recording system indexing Crown surveys and Crown documents).

Records include original township plans, Crown location surveys, field notes, etc. and are searchable by township, district, surveyor, date, lot, concession, etc. All records are indexed by geographic township.

Copies of survey records can be obtained by contacting

surveyrecords@ontario.ca

A legal document that transfers title (temporary or permanent ownership), a right (such as the right to flood a lake), or interest (such as an easement for an electrical transmission line) on or over public lands.

An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B".[1] An easement is a property right and type of incorporeal property in itself at common law in most jurisdictions.

As defined by Evershed MR in Re Ellenborough Park [1956] Ch 131, an easement requires the existence of at least two pieces of land. The land with the benefit of the easement is the dominant estate or dominant tenement, while the land burdened by the easement is the servient estate or servient tenement. For example, the owner of parcel A holds an easement to use a driveway on parcel B to gain access to A's house. Here, parcel A is the dominant estate, receiving the benefit, and parcel B is the servient estate, granting the benefit or suffering the burden.

Public v. Private: A private easement is held by private individuals or entities. A public easement grants an easement to the public, for example, to allow public access over a parcel owned by an individual.

*Definition above from Wikipedia

The Planning Act, an act that governs land use & regulation in Ontario, requires that an easement may be considered as a severance of land from its original parcel. This can’t be done without consent from the municipality, typically via application to the Committee of Adjustment. A Severance Application is typically required to create a right-of-way.

The original subdivision of land established by the earliest surveys in the Province for land administration (title) purposes. There are seven distinct township systems in Ontario. All Crown Survey Records are indexed by original geographic township name, not municipal township name.

The Geographic Townships in Renfrew County are:

1. Admaston

2. Alice

3. Bagot

4. Blythfield

5. Brougham

6. Brudenell

7. Buchanan

8. Burns

9. Clara

10. Fraser

11. Grattan

12. Griffith

13. Hagarty

14. Head

15. Horton

16. Jones

17. Lyndoch

18. Maria

19. Matawatchan

20. McNab/Bromley

21. North Algona

22. Pembroke

23. Petawawa

24. Radcliffe

25. Raglan

26. Richards

27. Rolph

28. Ross

29. Sebastopol

30. Sherwood

31. South Algona

32. Stafford

33. Westmeath

34. Wilberforce

35. Wylie

A land survey whose points have been coordinated by GPS methods or relative to a monument with coordinate values that are of record with and are stored and made available by a control survey authority, such as a municipal, provincial or federal geodetic horizontal control network in compliance with a prescribed accuracy.

Also see the Performance Standards Regulation under the Surveyors Act, available at e-Laws website.

A permit issued under the Public Lands Act, which gives a personal right to use public lands for an authorized purpose, upon payment of a fee. Intended use and/or occupation is short term (10 years or less), is not transferable and there is no right of renewal.

The written words within a document that defines a parcel of land either by metes and bounds or by reference to a survey plan or regulation plan.

A licence issued under the Public Lands Act which conveys a personal right to occupy public lands for an authorized purpose and includes a statutory right to maintain action against trespass. The term is negotiable (up to 20 years) and rights granted are transferable, with ministry consent, but there is no right of renewal.

A lot is a distinct land parcel with defined boundaries, while a concession is a line dividing sections within a township. These terms aid precise location identification.

That part of a deed or transfer of land in which the boundaries of the property are described only in words without a plan or map. The description will start at a defined point on the ground (e.g., the North West corner of Lot 1, Concession 1) and continue around the parcel giving directions and distances or other identifiers and finishing up at the same point as the start.

The metes normally refer to the direction and distance of a boundary segment, such as Thence N35°44′E, 245 metres to a point.

The bounds would normally refer to a natural feature, such as Thence along the centre line of Jolly Creek.

Written descriptions are rarely used in current documents, in favour of a graphical representation of the boundary with reference to a plan or a map.

A municipality refers to a geographic and administrative area that has been established by the provincial government to manage local governance and public services within its boundaries. It's a legally defined entity with specific powers and responsibilities related to land use, development, infrastructure, and other aspects of local management.

In Ontario, municipalities are distinct levels of government that exist alongside the provincial and federal governments. They have the authority to regulate land use through zoning bylaws, manage property assessments, levy property taxes, provide essential services like water supply and waste management, and enforce local building codes and regulations.

As of 2023, the Municipalities in Renfrew County are as follows:

1. Admaston/Bromley

2. Arnprior

3. Bonnechere Valley

4. Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan

5. Deep River

6. Greater Madawaska

7. Head, Clara, and Maria

8. Horton

9. Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards

10. Laurentian Hills

11. Laurentian Valley

12. Madawaska Valley

13. McNab/Braeside

14. North Algona Wilberforce

15. City of Pembroke

16. Town of Petawawa

17. Town of Renfrew

18. Whitewater Region

An Ontario Land Surveyor (OLS) is a professional member of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors (AOLS). They are required to maintain the necessary theoretical, practical and ethical standards set by legislation and the profession. For more information about the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors, visit the AOLS website. For more information about the Surveyors Act, visit e-Laws website.

A strip of land, 1 chain wide (66 feet), around some lakes and rivers established in the 1800s as public roads to allow access to and from the waterways. The original township plans must be examined to determine whether a particular lake or river has a shore road allowance.

Municipalities often close up portions of their Shore Road Allowances, where the land is more desirable to the adjoining Cottage Lot Owner, than to the Municipality.

PDF: Company Guide on Shore Road Allowance closure and purchase

A unit of land that is registered in the Land Registry Office.

A survey plan is a graphic representation showing the true (accurate and precise) location of legal boundaries. It is created from actual field measurements and can be used to accurately locate boundaries on the ground.

Each property or parcel of land in Ontario is assigned a unique 9-digit number (e.g., 49876-0123).

There are 54 Land Registry Offices throughout Ontario which register, store and manage documents such as deeds, mortgages and plans of survey. Registration of property is done under either the Land Titles Act or the Registry Act. All registered and deposited records are available to the public to search title or obtain information about the ownership. ServiceOntario manages and operates the Land Registry Offices.

For more information, or to purchase a Reference Plan, PIN, Block Map, Instrument/Deed or other research, visit the Registry Office’s portal known as OnLand

Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e., by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.

A legal easement that grants a person or entity the lawful permission to pass through or use another person's property for a specific purpose. It gives the holder of the right of way the legal right to travel across the property or access it, even though they do not own the property. The right of way is typically documented in a legal agreement and is limited to certain conditions and uses.

See Easement

Land reserved by the Crown to be used for public roads. Township Surveys included Road Allowances set at specified intervals every X number of concessions, and every Y number of lots. The width of a road was generally sixty-six feet (66′) or 1 chain or 20.12 metres wide.

In areas of the province that have municipal governments the road allowance are owned by municipalities, unless they have been closed and purchased.

PDF: Company Guide on Severance Process

PDF: Company Guide on Surveying for Severance

In the context of surveying, a severance refers to the process of legally dividing a single piece of land or property into two or more separate parcels, each with its own distinct legal title. This is often done to create new building lots or to transfer ownership of a portion of the property to someone else. The result of a successful severance is the creation of multiple individual land parcels, each with its own unique identification and legal boundaries.

The severance process involves several steps, and these steps can vary depending on the jurisdiction and local regulations. However, here's a general overview of what's typically required to complete the severance process:

1. Initial Consultation: The landowner interested in the severance process usually starts by consulting with the local municipality's planning or land division department. This helps them understand the specific requirements, regulations, and procedures that need to be followed.

2. Application Submission: The landowner submits a formal application for severance to the appropriate authority, often accompanied by relevant documents such as a survey plan, property description, and any required fees.

3. Property Assessment: The submitted application is reviewed by the municipality or relevant regulatory body. This may involve assessing the proposed severance's impact on things like land use, zoning, infrastructure, and environmental considerations.

4. Public Consultation: Depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the severance, there might be a requirement for public notification or consultation. This could involve notifying neighboring property owners, soliciting public input, or holding public hearings.

5. Approvals and Conditions: Once the application and associated documents are reviewed, the regulatory authority may grant conditional approval for the severance. Conditions might include things like road access, utility connections, setbacks, or other requirements.

6. Survey and Plan Preparation: A licensed land surveyor is typically required to accurately survey the property and prepare a new survey plan that outlines the proposed boundaries of the newly created parcels. This plan must adhere to specific surveying standards and include legal descriptions and relevant measurements.

7. In Ontario, a Reference Plan is required to provide a ‘description’ of the lands being Severed. The Reference Plan will include unique parts for Each Proposed Severance, and Easements, Road Widenings, etc.

8. Finalizing Documentation: Once all conditions are met, the landowner and their lawyer finalize the required documentation, including any legal agreements or transfers associated with the severance(s).

9. Land Registry: The newly created parcels are officially registered with the land registry office, and separate legal titles are issued for each parcel.

10. Completion: With the issuance of separate legal titles, the severance process is complete. The landowner now has distinct ownership of each new parcel, and each parcel is treated as a separate entity in terms of land use, taxation, and other considerations.

It's important to note that the severance process can be complex and might involve additional steps and requirements not covered here. Regulations can vary based on the jurisdiction and the specifics of the property in question. As such, it's recommended to work closely with professionals, such as land surveyors and legal experts, to navigate the process successfully and ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.

A Subdivision process involves dividing a larger piece of land into smaller, individual lots or parcels. However, there are some key differences between a subdivision and a severance.

In a subdivision:

1. Process: A subdivision involves creating multiple new lots from a larger tract of land. This could be for the purpose of residential, commercial, or industrial development.

2. Scale: Subdivisions typically result in a larger number of smaller lots, often designed for residential purposes like houses or condominium units.

3. Planning: Subdivisions usually require more detailed planning and infrastructure development. This can involve designing roads, utilities, drainage systems, and public spaces for the entire newly created subdivision.

4. Approvals: Subdivisions usually require a more comprehensive review process, involving local government agencies and sometimes even higher levels of government, depending on the size and scope of the subdivision.

5. Public Consultation: Due to the larger scale and potential impact of subdivisions, there is often a greater emphasis on public consultation, which can involve notifying nearby property owners and holding public hearings.

6. Regulations: Subdivision regulations can be quite strict and are intended to ensure that the newly created lots are suitable for development, have proper access, and adhere to zoning and other land use regulations.

The steps to complete a subdivision process are generally similar to those of a severance, but they tend to be more involved and require more detailed planning due to the larger number of lots and potential impact on infrastructure. It's important to work with professionals, including land surveyors, planners, and legal experts, to navigate the subdivision process effectively and comply with all relevant regulations and requirements.

Surveying is the precise measurement, mapping, and analysis of the Earth's surface and its features. It involves using specialized instruments and techniques to determine the positions, distances, angles, and elevations of points on the land. Surveying serves various purposes, including creating accurate maps, establishing property boundaries, designing construction projects, and collecting data for engineering, environmental, and planning purposes. Surveyors use technology such as total stations, GPS (Global Positioning System), and laser scanners to gather data, which is then processed to create detailed maps, plans, and measurements that guide a wide range of activities in fields like construction, land development, resource management, and infrastructure planning.