Land and Title "Services, Searches and Solutions" for individuals, government, business and Land, Energy or Mineral exploration and development projects
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| Land and Title "Services, Searches and Solutions" for individuals, government, business and Land, Energy or Mineral exploration and development projects |
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 BC Land Grants
. The establishment of surface and mineral ownership on Vancouver Island through E&N Railway and Provincial Land Grants Land Grants are the original granting documents which established the jurisdiction and ownership of both surface and minerals. These land grants granted rights to the surface of the land and rights to any minerals set out, or not reserved, in the grant document. In 1849 title to the whole of Vancouver Island was granted to the Hudson’s Bay Company by Queen Victoria. Included in that agreement was the right of the Crown to re-purchase the Island from the Hudson’s Bay on the termination of the trading licence which expired in 1859. In 1860 the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Hudson’s Bay Company made an agreement whereby all the lands could be sold to the Colony except for lands previously sold by the Company. The actual conveyance took place in 1867 for a consideration of 57,500 pounds The lands subsequently came under the jurisdiction of the Province when the colony was admitted into the Dominion of Canada in 1871. Although there were very early allotments by the Hudson’s Bay Company (which were validated by the 1867 conveyance) and there are some Dominon of Canada grants, the predominant Vancouver Island area land grants consist of Provincial Crown land grants (BC Crown Grants) and grants issued by the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (E&N Land Grants). During the years prior to the establishment of the E&N in the mid 1870’s the Colony of Vancouver Island, and then the Province, had been continually making surveys and granting land allotments. To establish a railway between Esquimalt and Nanaimo the Government of British Columbia agreed to convey to the Dominion Government a 20 mile wide belt of land lying along the south-eastern coast of Vancouver Island stretching from just north of Victoria to Campbell River. The Dominion Government entered into an agreement with the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Co. (Robert Dunsmuir and Associates) in 1883 and conveyed control of this belt of lands to the E&N. What followed was a series of Acts and legislation which established an area of E&N land jurisdiction in the order of 2 million acres ( E&N Lands ). Ownership to the surface (AND SUBSURFACE MINERALS) of the E&N Lands was controlled, granted and conveyed through the issuance of the E&N Land Grants as settlement on Vancouver Island occurred and as with other early settlement areas (see BC Land Title Research) A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF E&N LAND GRANTS GRANTED AND CONVEYED THE RIGHTS TO MINERALS along with surface ownership. We can provide a unique specialized expertise for E&N Lands. Den-Mara has extensive experience in Land Grant document retrievals and Title ownership determinations (both surface and subsurface) within the E&N Lands while Sekani is experienced and knowledgable in surface and subsurface operations with respect to the exploration and development of minerals. For locate or obtain a copy of Land Grant documents Go to our "ONLINE SEARCHES" section and scroll to the "BC Land Grant Search" page for online search - OR - contact us to discuss any larger research projects Note: As with provincial Crown lands in BC the E&N Lands are subject to First Nations land claims which are currently in the early stages of the aboriginal land claim process. The First Nations contend that Canada and BC had no power to extinguish or abrogate the prior aboriginal rights that existed with respect to E&N lands and that they had a responsibility to protect the best interests of the First Nations and are accountable for such responsibilities. | E&N Railway Land Grants | | Return Home | Sekani Resources | Den-Mara Enterprises | Admin Services | BC Registries | ONLINE SEARCHES | Title Research | BC Land Grants | |
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