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Chapter C2 ver. 1

SURVEYS IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Table of Contents

Effective Date

This Chapter is effective January 1, 1997. It was originally published as Chapter C2 of the Third Edition of the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of Canada Lands.

Chapter Sections

General

  1. The provisions of this Chapter apply to Federal Lands, Commissioner's Lands, Titled Lands, and Settlement Lands in the Northwest Territories.
  2. Federal Lands for the purpose of this Chapter are Territorial Lands as defined in the Territorial Lands Act which are under the administration and control of a Minister of the federal government.
  3. Commissioner's Lands for the purpose of this Chapter are Territorial Lands as defined in the Territorial Lands Act, which are under the administration and control of the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories.
  4. Titled Lands for the purpose of this Chapter are parcels of land for which a certificate of title has been issued under the Land Titles Act (Canada), Land Titles Act (N. W. T.), or the Condominium Act (N. W. T.).
  5. Settlement Lands for the purpose of this Chapter are lands transferred to native groups in accordance with the provisions of land claim settlement legislation.

Administration of Surface Rights

Federal Lands
  1. Most Federal Lands in the Northwest Territories are administered by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) under the Northern Affairs Program. Other Federal Lands are administered by various federal government departments.
  2. Surface rights on Federal Lands administered by DIAND are managed by the Regional Manager, Lands Resources Division, Yellowknife. The Regional Manager is also responsible for authorizing legal surveys and maintaining records of documents affecting these lands.
  3. On behalf of the federal government, the Deputy Minister of the territorial Department of Municipal and Community Affairs administers land in communities which have not been transferred to the territorial government.
Commissioner's Lands

9. The Deputy Minister of the territorial Department of Municipal and Community Affairs deals with most matters regarding Commissioner's Lands. Within the Department, the Community Planning Division is responsible for subdivision approvals; the Surveys and Mapping Division is responsible for surveying and mapping projects; and the Lands Division maintains records of transactions affecting Commissioner's Lands.

Titled Lands

10. Since July 19, 1993, Titled Lands are regulated and administered under the Land Titles Act (N. W. T.) by the territorial Department of Justice. Official records of land titles may be obtained from the Land Titles Office in Yellowknife. Prior to July 19, 1993, Titled Lands were regulated under the Land Titles Act (Canada).

Settlement Lands

11. Settlement Lands are administered by Native organizations in accordance with enabling land claims settlement legislation. The organizations responsible for the administration of Settlement Lands are listed in Schedule C2-1

Administration of Subsurface Rights

  1. Rights to oil and gas in the Northwest Territories are administered by the Northern Oil and Gas Directorate, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in Hull, Quebec. Copies of licenses and other documents pertaining to oil and gas for lands in the Northwest Territories are available from the Office of the Registrar, Northern Oil and Gas Directorate in Hull.
  2. Oil and gas rights in the Norman Wells area are administered under the provisions of the Norman Wells Agreement of 1944 (P. C. 1944- 5594), the Norman Wells Expansion Agreement of 1983 (P. C. 1983-3132), and the Norman Wells Amending Agreement of 1994 (P. C. 1994-1939).
  3. The National Energy Board, located in Calgary, Alberta, is responsible for all oil and gas exploratory and development activities, such as drilling and seismic programs.
  4. Mineral rights in the Northwest Territories are administered by DIAND. Documents pertaining to mineral rights are recorded in the office of the Mining Recorder in Yellowknife under the provisions of the Canada Mining Regulations.
  5. Mineral rights, including petroleum resources, in Settlement Lands may be administered by Yukon First Nations in accordance with the enabling legislation.

Creation and Alienation

Federal Lands

17. Letters patent for the alienation of Federal Lands are not issued until a plan of survey thereof has been confirmed by the Surveyor General, or a person designated by the Surveyor General to confirm such plans, and filed or registered in the Land Titles Office.

Commissioner's Lands
  1. Land being made into Commissioner's Lands may be described by survey or by metes and bounds description.
  2. Commissioner's Lands may not be sold until a plan of survey of the land has been filed or registered at the Land Titles Office.
  3. Every application for a disposition of Commissioner's Lands requires a description referenced to:
    1. for surveyed land, a legal survey plan; or
    2. for unsurveyed land, a sketch prepared on site and, if necessary, making reference to the boundaries having been marked off on the ground.
Titled Lands

21. Certificates of title are not issued until an official plan of survey, prepared under the Canada Lands Surveys Act, has been filed in the Land Titles Office. However, it should be noted that this does not apply to titles established by land claim settlement legislation and that some titles created prior to the adoption of the Territorial Lands Regulations in 1960 are based on written land descriptions.

Settlement Lands

22. Settlement Lands are transferred to Native organizations through land claims settlement legislation. Settlement Lands may be alienated in accordance with the legislation.

Legal Surveys

General
  1. In this section, "Regional Office" means the office of the Surveyor General Branch in Yellowknife.
  2. Legal surveys in the Northwest Territories may be made to define the boundaries of:
    1. federal or territorial jurisdictions;
    2. native land claim settlement areas;
    3. lands subject to a sale or grant;
    4. lands subject to a lease, permit, or other limited interest; and
    5. a parcel made to accommodate a requirement of a federal or territorial government department.
  3. Legal surveys of lands in the Northwest Territories may also be made to re-establish or restore boundaries when monuments or other evidence of boundaries have become lost or obliterated, or to correct errors in previous surveys.
  4. Special surveys may also be made for the purposes identified in section 35 of the Canada Lands Surveys Act.
  5. Surveys in Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay), Hay River, Inuvik, Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife must be integrated into the Coordinated Survey Areas established in these locations.
  6. Legal surveys of lands in the Northwest Territories must be carried out by a Canada Lands Surveyor.
  7. When an application is made for specific survey instructions the surveyor must identify which lands are Federal Lands, Commissioner's Lands, Titled Lands, or Settlement Lands.
Federal Lands
  1. General administrative requirements and procedures for legal surveys are given in Chapter C1.
  2. Legal surveys of Federal Lands are made under the authority of the Canada Lands Surveys Act.
  3. Legal surveys on Federal Lands require the approval of the federal government department administering the lands. For lands administered by DIAND, the Regional Manager, Lands Resources Division is the approval authority.
Commissioner's Lands
  1. General administrative requirements and procedures for legal surveys are given in Chapter C1.
  2. Legal surveys of Commissioner's Lands are made under the authority of the Canada Lands Surveys Act.
  3. Legal surveys of Commissioner's Lands require the approval of the Commissioner. This approval may be obtained from the Director of Planning of the territorial Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.
Titled Lands
  1. Legal surveys of Titled Lands are carried out in accordance with the Canada Lands Surveys Act as specified in the Land Titles Act (N. W. T.) and the Land Titles Plans Regulations (N. W. T.).
  2. Legal surveys of Titled Lands do not normally require specific survey instructions. However, specific survey instructions are required if the lands dealt with in the survey include Federal or Commissioner's Lands.
  3. The Surveyor General may be requested by departments of the federal or territorial government to issue specific survey instructions for the survey of Titled Lands owned or required by these departments.
  4. A proposed subdivision of Titled Lands requires a sketch plan prepared in accordance with the Land Titles Plans Regulations (N. W. T.) to be approved by the Minister responsible for the Planning Act (N. W. T.). After approval, the surveyor must submit the sketch to the Regional Office who will issue lot numbers.
  5. After the plan of survey of a subdivision has been completed the surveyor shall send it to the Regional Office for examination. When it is found satisfactory the plan will be sent to the Minister for approval.
  6. After the plan of survey of a subdivision is approved by the Minister it is returned to the Regional Office who will send it to the surveyor. The surveyor is responsible for submitting the survey plan and any necessary duplicate certificates of title, or transfer documents, to the Land Titles Office. After the plan is registered, the Land Titles Office will make two duplicates, one for the Regional Office, and one to be forwarded to the Surveyor General for recording in the Canada Lands Surveys Records.
  7. Plans of survey of condominiums must be approved by the Commissioner under subsection 6( 5) of the Condominium Act (N. W. T.). General instructions for these surveys are given in Chapter D4.
Oil and Gas
  1. Surveys or land descriptions are required for oil and gas development in connection with:
    1. exploration, significant discovery, and production licenses;
    2. drilling approvals; and
    3. surface rights required for pipelines, wellsites and other related facilities.
  2. Land descriptions for exploration, significant discovery and production licenses are based on a geographical grid system as defined in the Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations.
  3. For exploratory wells completed for production, and for development wells, legal surveys are required as outlined in Sections 20 and 21 of the Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations.
  4. Section 104 of the Canada Oil and Gas Drilling Regulations requires a legal survey to confirm the location of:
    1. any development well;
    2. any exploratory well that has been assigned the status of a discovery well by the Chief Conservation Officer under section 221 of the Regulations; or
    3. any other well, on the request of the Chief Conservation Officer.
  5. Subject to paragraph 48, specific survey instructions are not required for oil and gas surveys. General instructions for these surveys are given in Chapter D7. Plans of survey are forwarded to the Surveyor General in Ottawa for examination and recording in the Canada Lands Surveys Records. Copies of these plans are available from the office of the Surveyor General in Ottawa. They are not available from the Regional Office.
  6. On Canada Lands, specific survey instructions are required for control surveys carried out to support surveys of oil and gas rights under the Canada Oil and Gas Land Regulations. General instructions for these surveys are given in Chapter D12.
  7. Legal surveys for surface rights required for pipelines, wellsites and other related facilities are carried out under the Canada Lands Surveys Act.
Mineral Claims
  1. Most surveys for mineral claims are carried out under the Canada Mining Regulations.
  2. General instructions for these surveys are given in Chapter D8. Specific survey instructions are not required but the surveyor must obtain lot numbers from the Regional Office.
  3. The surveyor shall send the plan of survey to the Regional Office for examination. When it is found satisfactory, the plan will be forwarded to the Surveyor General for approval.
  4. The plan of survey will be approved by the Surveyor General once notification has been received from the Mining Recorder that the provisions of the Canada Mining Regulations have been complied with.
  5. Plans of surveys of mineral claims are recorded in the Canada Lands Surveys Records and a copy is deposited with the Supervising Mining Recorder in Yellowknife.
  6. Surveys for a dredging lease may be required under the Territorial Dredging Regulations. These surveys require specific survey instructions.

Schedule C2-1 (paragraph 11)

Land Claim Settlements, N. W. T.
Enabling Legislation Native Group Lands administered by Office Location
Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act (S.C.1984, c.24) Inuvialuit Inuvialuit Land Administration Inuvik
Gwich'in Land Claim Settlement Act (S.C.1992, c.53) Gwich'in Gwich'in Tribal Council Fort McPherson
Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act (S.C. 1993, c. 29) Inuit Nunavut Tungavik Inc. Ottawa
Sahtu Dene and Metis Land Claim Settlement Act (S.C.1994, c.27) Sahtu Dene and Metis Sahtu Tribal Council Fort Norman