Council recently approved an Interpretive Bulletin to clarify the process for removing a monument under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act. If you haven’t already read the Interpretive Bulletin, it’s available in the Essential Resources Document.

In this article, I’ll use several hypothetical case studies to highlight applications of the Interpretive Bulletin.

The four key concepts in the Interpretive Bulletin are:

1. Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act cannot be used to alter a boundary.
2. Permission under Section 50(3) is not normally required to remove a disturbed monument.
3. Monuments of unknown origin that don’t define a boundary can be removed with permission, but the monument’s removal should be documented on a plan.
4. If permission to move or remove a monument is obtained via a court order, permission from the Director of Surveys is not required.

Altering a boundary
Case Study 1 – misplaced posts on a subdivision, correcting a survey error

• Your 2015 subdivision plan indicates that you have created a new 100 x 100 square lot.
• In 2021, a surveyor contacts you to let you know that they found all four of your posts in what appears to be their original position, but the lot is only 100 x 90.
• After a review of your records, you realize that you misplaced two of the posts and you want to move them to reflect the intent of the plan.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to move two of the posts under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – No. Moving these posts would alter the boundary of the lot and this can only be done via a court order or an order under Section 9 of the Surveys Act.

Case Study 2 – simple double posting at the E ¼ 25

• On a 2010 right-of-way plan you indicated that you did not find the original monument at the E ¼ 25 so you re-established a position by proportion and placed a new post (the E ¼ 25 is not on the right-of-way boundary).
• In 2021, a surveyor contacts you to let you know that they found the original wooden post placed as part of the township survey at the E ¼ 25.
• You visit the site and confirm that you have inadvertently double posted the E ¼ 25.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove the second post at the E ¼ 25 under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – Yes. The post you placed is your opinion of the original location of the E ¼ 25 and it does not govern the E ¼ 25 (the original post placed as part of the township survey does). Therefore, removing the second post would not alter the boundary of any adjacent quarter sections or the right-of-way you created on the 2010 plan.

However, adding one level of complexity to this example would change the answer. For example, if in 2015, the post you placed purporting to mark the E ¼ 25 was used to define a new lot corner on a subdivision plan, permission to remove it under Section 50(3) would not be granted because removing it would alter the boundary of the lot created in 2015. In this situation you would be expected to work with the 2015 surveyor to obtain a court order to alter the boundary of their subdivision.

Removing a disturbed monument
Case Study 3 – removing a post that is physically disturbed

• Your survey crew finds the top part of a road post lying flat in the ditch. They pull the post up and note that the bottom part of the post is in the ground at an angle and there is a 90º bend in the portion that would have been above ground. It is impossible to determine if the base of the post is in its original position and it’s obviously been hit by machinery. Mathematically, the base of the post is 0.4 ‘out of position.’
• You determine that the post is physically disturbed and you are unable to restore its original position from traces of evidence on the ground.
• You want to remove the post so that it doesn’t cause future confusion.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove the road post under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – No. You can simply remove it if, in your professional opinion, the post is disturbed. However, you will have to use your professional judgement to determine how to best document what you did on a plan (removed the post, left no mark, re-established it, etc.).

In this type of scenario, it is best to deal with the post so that it doesn’t cause confusion in the future. Showing “Fd. I. disturbed did not accept” on your plan and leaving the post in the ground close to a re-established position doesn’t seem like doing enough to preserve the survey fabric.

Case Study 4 – removing a post that is not obviously disturbed, but you can prove that it’s been moved

• You’re working on Phase 3 of a multi-phase development project.
• Phase 3 is adjacent to Phase 2 which you surveyed in 2018.
• As part of your boundary survey for Phase 3, you tie in posts you placed in Phase 2. All of the Phase 2 posts you are locating look straight up and down, are at ground level, and seem to be in good shape.
• However, when doing your calculations, you note that all of the posts are now about 0.3 northeast and 0.3 higher in elevation than when you placed them in 2018.
• The calculated position of these posts is very close to the fence.
• It seems like a fencing crew removed them, built the fence and placed the posts back in the ground approximately where they found them.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove these posts under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – No. You can simply remove them if, in your professional opinion, the posts are disturbed. However, before doing so you will have to confirm that they weren’t used in their disturbed position to define a new boundary, stake a house, and so on. You will again also have to use your professional judgement to determine how to best document what you did on a plan (removed the post, left no mark, re-established it, etc.). This might involve communicating with other Alberta Land Surveyors. Again, in this situation, just showing “Fd. I. disturbed did not accept” on your plan and leaving the post in the ground close to a re-established position doesn’t seem like doing enough to preserve the survey fabric or protect the public.

Monument of unknown origin
Case Study 5 – removing a monument of unknown origin

• During a survey you come across two posts at a lot corner.
• After assessing both posts you determine that one of them is the original monument placed as part of the original plan and it seems to be in its original position.
• The second post is of unknown origin and you do not want to accept it.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove one of these posts under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – Yes. The post of unknown origin does not define a boundary and it can be removed with permission. However, this should be documented on a plan (normally a monument plan). Additionally, research is required to ensure that no one has used the post of unknown origin.

For example,



Like Case Study 2, adding one level of complexity to this example would change the answer. For instance, if in 2015, the post of unknown origin was used to define a new lot corner on a subdivision plan, permission to remove it under Section 50(3) would not be granted because removing it would alter the boundary of the lot created in 2015. In this situation you would be expected to contact the 2015 surveyor to let them know that they might need to obtain a court order to alter the boundary of their subdivision.

Case Study 6 – found a post that has obviously been moved

• During an RPR survey in a small town, you walk to a block corner and find an old post about three metres away from where you expected to find it.
• You survey to the theoretical block corner location and you find a post/rust hole within 0.05 of your calculated position.
• You determine that you have found the original monument (post) but it’s not in its original position.
• You determine that you have also found traces of the monument’s original position (post hole).

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to move the post back to its post hole under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – This is a bit of a grey area. The post seems to be disturbed and was somehow moved to its current position. It probably would not have been done by a surveyor (based on the large discrepancy). By calling it disturbed you can remove or move it without permission. Indeed, in this situation, some ALSs would say, just move it back to the post hole, use it there and move on. However, others might say, restore the post hole by placing a new post, enter a record in the Corner Recordation Index or document this on a plan, and leave the post in the ground three metres away.

Using your professional judgement will help you come to the best way to resolve this scenario. Considerations include: what is the best way to protect the public, avoid boundary uncertainties and confusion, and preserve the survey fabric?

It would not be wrong to ask for permission to move it. This would be a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach. Regardless of what you choose to do, research must be done to determine if anyone has used the post in its ‘disturbed’ position. Communicating your intent with the DOS might help facilitate communication with other ALSs. Despite the decision, leaving a post three metres away from the original position will probably cause confusion and some action should be taken.

Case Study 7 – random rebar close to a lot corner

• During an RPR survey you come across what appears to be a piece of rebar 0.2 from your calculated position of a lot corner.
• The rebar looks like it could be remnants of a retaining wall that used to be there.
• The rebar is not shown on any plan, and it does not seem to have been placed by a surveyor.

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove the rebar under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act?

Answer – No. If it wasn’t placed by a surveyor, it isn’t a monument. Remove it to preserve the survey fabric and avoid causing future confusion.

Obtaining a Court Order
Case Study 8 – removing a post with a court order under Section 91 of the Land Titles Act

• In the draft court orders that I’ve seen ALSs prepare to resolve boundary panel cases, the following statement is often included in the order:
• Authority to remove the post ___ is granted (add text to describe which post).

 For example, “authority to remove the posts placed on Plan __ purporting to define the E ¼ 25 is granted.”

Should you ask the Director of Surveys for permission to remove a monument under Section 50(3) of the Surveys Act if you are seeking a court order?

Answer – No. If the court authorizes you to remove a monument, this supersedes the Surveys Act.
(Note that providing/using an example court order does not replace legal advice and the court order examples are simply intended to help ALSs provide enough information for a lawyer (and a judge) to develop the best possible instructions for LTO and surveyors to follow).