In 1878, a township was surveyed in Muskoka. The returns of survey included the surveyor’s

Question

drawing of the Township Plan, a small portion of which appears at Figure 1. Separate patents
were given for Lots 12 and 13, Concession III, and Lot 12, Concession IV, in 1880, 1881 and 1882
respectively, and all subsequent dealings with title were under the Land Titles Act.
In 1968, a surveyor was asked to prepare a survey for the owner at that time of Lot 13,
Concession III. Part of that survey appears at Figure 2.
Today, you are the surveyor who is asked to survey the West Half of Lot 13, Concession III. In
doing so, you are told that the owner of Lot 13, Concession III, was able to get a severance
approved, but that application for severance was not based on any survey work. When your
field crew returns from the initial survey of the site and the data is downloaded, it plots out as
shown in Figure 3. None of the figures are to scale.
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Figure 1 — Rudimentary sketch of Part of 1878 of the Township Survey Plan1
1 Dimensions and numbering of lots and concessions are not indicated in Figure 1. However, since the general
geographic location and year of survey are known, it is possible to determine the system of survey reflected in the
sketch. If unable to achieve a determination, refer to the regulation R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1029: SURVEY METHODS
under Ontario’s Surveys Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.30.
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Figure 2 — Part of 1968 Survey
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Figure 3 — Survey from Field Crew
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QUESTIONS
1. When did the boundary between Lots 12 and 13, Concession III, and Lot 12, Concession IV,
come into legal existence? When did it come into physical existence?
2. What is your opinion of the boundary location between Lots 12 and 13, Concession III? Why?
3. Is the part shown on Figure 3 part of your client’s property? Why? Or why not?
4. Based on your answer in 2 above, what does this do to the ownership of cottage B? What
more information do you need to answer this question?

Answer 1

1. The legal existence of the boundary between Lots 12 and 13, Concession III, and Lot 12, Concession IV came into existence when separate patents were issued for these lots in 1880, 1881, and 1882. The physical existence of the boundary would have been established during the original survey of the township in 1878.

2. Based on the information provided, it is difficult to form a concrete opinion on the boundary location between Lots 12 and 13, Concession III. The figures provided do not include accurate scale or measurements, making it challenging to assess the boundary location with precision. An on-site survey using accurate surveying techniques and measurements would be required to determine the exact boundary between the two lots.

3. The part shown in Figure 3 is not necessarily part of the client's property. The figure does not provide enough information to determine the boundaries of the client's property accurately. A more thorough survey, including accurate measurements and boundary markers, would be required to confirm the boundaries of the client's property.

4. Without a specific determination of the boundary location between Lots 12 and 13, Concession III, it is not possible to determine the impact on the ownership of cottage B. More information, such as an accurate survey and legal documents regarding boundaries and ownership, would be needed to assess the ownership of cottage B accurately.