The Law and Practice of

Land Surveying in Alberta

Edited byAlec McEwen, LLM, PhD

Professor Emeritus of Geomatics EngineeringUniversity of Calgary

Alberta Land Surveyors Association

2007

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

ISBN no. 0-9781014-0-5

Alberta Land Surveyors Association. All rights reserved. The contents of thispublication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without priorwritten consent of the copyright holder.

Disclaimer

This book has been commissioned by the Alberta Land Surveyors Association as apractical guide to interpreting, understanding and applying the laws and regulationsgoverning land surveying in Alberta. While its contents generally reflect the relevantprinciples and policies, the Association does not necessarily endorse the opinions andrecommendations offered by the authors.

The Law and Practice of Land Surveying in Alberta

Table of Contents

Foreword................................................................................................................. xv

Introduction ........................................................................................................... xvi

The Authors .......................................................................................................... xvii

Table of Cases .......................................................................................................... xx

Table of Statutes and Regulations ......................................................................... xxii

Abbreviations....................................................................................................... xxvi

Chapter 1: The Surveying Profession........................................................................... 1

The Role of the Professional Surveyor ....................................................................... 1

The Surveying Profession .......................................................................................... 5

Exclusive Field of Practice ................................................................................. 6

The Alberta Land Surveyors Association as a Self-regulating Profession ........... 7

Registration................................................................................................ 8

Interprovincial mobility ...................................................................... 9

Implications of NAFTA..................................................................... 10

Corporate Membership ...................................................................... 10

Maintaining Professional Competency.............................................................. 11

Continuing Professional Development....................................................... 12

Practice Review........................................................................................ 12

Administrative Structure................................................................... 13

The Review Process........................................................................... 14

Observations and Outcomes .............................................................. 15

Discipline ................................................................................................................ 15

Standards of Practice............................................................................................... 17

Manual of Standard Practice ............................................................................ 17

Code of Ethics .................................................................................................. 20

Professional Responsibility...................................................................................... 20

i

The Law and Practice of Land Surveying in Alberta

ii

The Land Surveyor as a Public Officer ............................................................. 21

Liability and NegligenceDuty of Care ........................................................... 21

Limitation of Actions ....................................................................................... 22

Professional Liability Insurance ....................................................................... 22

Personal Supervision ............................................................................................... 23

Contract Crews................................................................................................. 25

Unauthorized Practice ..................................................................................... 25

Rights and Privileges............................................................................................... 26

Right of Entry ................................................................................................ 26

Taking Oaths ................................................................................................... 27

Copyright......................................................................................................... 27

Marketing ............................................................................................................... 28

Fees and Estimates .......................................................................................... 30

The Alberta Land Surveyor as an Expert Witness ................................................... 31

Summary................................................................................................................. 33

Case Studies ..................................................................................................... 34

Case Study A: Discipline and Unauthorized Practice................................ 34

Case Study B: Discipline and Unskilled Practice ....................................... 35

Case Study C: Professional Liability.......................................................... 36

References .............................................................................................................. 37

Websites........................................................................................................... 37

Appendix A: Alberta Land Surveyors Code of Ethics.............................................. 38

Appendix B: Advertising Guidelines ........................................................................ 43

Chapter 2: Real Property Law...................................................................................... 45

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 45

Finding Legislation, Subsidiary Legislation and Case Law....................................... 45

Legislation ....................................................................................................... 45

Case Law.......................................................................................................... 46

Nature of Real Property and Interests in land ......................................................... 47

The Law and Practice of Land Surveying in Alberta

Tenure: Ownership, possession and occupation................................................. 48

Estates in land ................................................................................................. 49

Freehold Estates ....................................................................................... 49

Fee simple estate ............................................................................... 50

Fee tail estate .................................................................................... 50

Life estate ......................................................................................... 50

Leasehold estate ....................................................................................... 51

Concurrent Estates ................................................................................... 51

Joint Tenancy ................................................................................... 52

Joint Tenancy Severance................................................................... 52

Tenancy in Common.......................................................................... 53

Condominium.................................................................................... 53

Co-operatives..................................................................................... 54

Other Communal Property ................................................................ 54

Interests in Land.............................................................................................. 54

Leases and Licences .................................................................................. 54

Easements ................................................................................................ 55

Grant: express and implied ................................................................ 56

Statutory........................................................................................... 56

Prescription ...................................................................................... 56

Termination of Easements................................................................. 57

Covenants ................................................................................................. 57

Adverse Possession ............