Colleagues-
Thank you for your comments.
In Ontario there is a proposed Bill 180 that will be re-introduced following the October re-lection.
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=2484
The purpose of the Bill is to require all entities that place underground services belong to the "ONE CALL" and be able to answer the call to locate them.
Please read the Bill.
Unfortunately, in the early stage of this Bill (about 5 years ago) there was not a significant input from the surveying profession to set out that there needs to be a continuous, consistent physical framework to hang the mapping of these services on for all to reference, particularly if the monuments continue to be 'stolen' during construction.
Our difficulty in enforcing the Criminal Code of Canada is the 'willful' provision.
CRIMINAL CODE OF CANADA SECTIONS 442 AND 443
Interfering with boundary lines
442. Every one who wilfully pulls down, defaces, alters or removes anything planted or set up as the boundary line or part of the boundary line of land is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
• R.S., c. C-34, s. 398.
Interfering with international boundary marks, etc.
443. (1) Every one who wilfully pulls down, defaces, alters or removes
(a) a boundary mark lawfully placed to mark any international, provincial, county or municipal boundary, or
(b) a boundary mark lawfully placed by a land surveyor to mark any limit, boundary or angle of a concession, range, lot or parcel of land,
is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
Saving provision
(2) A land surveyor does not commit an offence under subsection (1) where, in his operations as a land surveyor,
(a) he takes up, when necessary, a boundary mark mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) and carefully replaces it as it was before he took it up; or
(b) he takes up a boundary mark mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) in the course of surveying for a highway or other work that, when completed, will make it impossible or impracticable for that boundary mark to occupy its original position, and he establishes a permanent record of the original position sufficient to permit that position to be ascertained.
• R.S., c. C-34, s. 399.
To protect the monumentation in an ongoing fashion I have suggested an additional phrase under Section 8 of the proposed Bill, borrowing a bit from existing Regulations with the idea the Regulations that follow Bill 180 will provide for a $ holdback and a pre and post construction inventory report by a licensed surveyor to be managed by the approving authority/municipality.
(f) prescribing the methods of providing for evaluation and preservation of the existing and future cadastral survey monumentation when ground is broken,
as no person shall dig, bore, trench, grade, excavate or break ground with mechanical equipment or explosives without first ascertaining the location of any such monumentation that may be interfered with.
Your continuing thoughts are appreciated.
Cheers
Derek
> Saving provision
> (2) A land surveyor does not commit an offence under subsection (1) where, in his operations as a land surveyor,
> (a) he takes up, when necessary, a boundary mark mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) and carefully replaces it as it was before he took it up; or
> (b) he takes up a boundary mark mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) in the course of surveying for a highway or other work that, when completed, will make it impossible or impracticable for that boundary mark to occupy its original position, and he establishes a permanent record of the original position sufficient to permit that position to be ascertained.
>
> ...
>
> (f) prescribing the methods of providing for evaluation and preservation of the existing and future cadastral survey monumentation when ground is broken,
> as no person shall dig, bore, trench, grade, excavate or break ground with mechanical equipment or explosives without first ascertaining the location of any such monumentation that may be interfered with.
Derek,
Assume someone (a surveyor) finds a monument prior to construction/digging and wants to perpetuate the position. The above makes reference to establishing a "permanent record" of the position. What sort of mechanism is in place to do that? Would it somehow be recorded?
Dan-
Good question.
In Ontario we have a system of private public surveyors and the concept of 'contact' the geographically local surveyor first and then run further outside of that to seek information.
It isn't the best by any means but all surveyors are not equal in taking the time to do it right.............. so there is a reluctance to have a central reporting reservoir of information.
In British Columbia I believe there has been an amalgamation of the functions of the Provincial Land Registry System with the Surveyor General's Office so cadastral geoinfo is reasonably available.
Under the Surveys Act there is a record keeping provision and such pre and post inventory could be kept with the Surveyor General's Office with a searchable data base.
Duty to keep field notes, etc.
4. (1) Every surveyor shall make and preserve exact and regular field notes of all his or her surveys and shall keep a proper record and index of all such field notes and shall exhibit or give copies of the same to any surveyor for a reasonable charge.
Disposition of notes of deceased surveyor
(2) Where a surveyor has died and no arrangements have been made within six months of the death to place his or her field notes, records and indices in the custody of a surveyor in active practice, the secretary-treasurer of the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors shall cause such field notes, records and indices to be delivered by the personal representative of the deceased surveyor to the Minister who shall hold them for the benefit of the estate for a period not exceeding five years, and upon the expiry of that period such field notes, records and indices become the property of the Crown and may be disposed of by the Minister in any manner the Minister considers proper.
To be deemed public documents
(3) So long as such field notes, records and indices are in the possession of the Minister, he or she shall exhibit or give copies of the same to any person for a reasonable charge. R.S.O. 1990, c. S.30, s. 4.
If we had innovation .................
Cheers
Derek
