Since 1989, land records in Ontario have been endangered artifacts. After the decision was made to automate our land registry offices, pre-1867 documents (officially called "instruments") were taken by the Archives of Ontario (AO) while post-1868 records were scheduled for destruction. It was learned in the late 1980's that our 1868-1940 land records were being destroyed. At that time, the heritage community organized a strong lobby to prevent this destruction, concerned, in part, that the microfilming of the records was substandard (the government recognizes microfilm as a legal record). The major provincial heritage groups and the academic community were represented on an Advisory Committee on Land Registry Office Records in Ontario which presented its report in 1990. The 1990 report secured a five-year delay (which has now stretched to seven years) and made a number of recommendations. Little has been done in more than seven years.
In the fall of 1996, it was proposed that local heritage groups be given until June 30, 1997, to agree to take all the 1868-1955 documents (including abstract index books no longer in use) from local Land Registry Offices, with removal to be completed by the end of 1997. Any records not so claimed would be destroyed. (These records are incredibly voluminous and their removal to the Archives of Ontario is not a realistic option.) Unfortunately, the situation is even more serious than at first appreciated.
Late last year, a few of us pointed out to the Archives of Ontario that the Land Registry Offices have historically been the repositories for much more than land registration documents. The existence of so many other unique heritage documents other than typical land transfer documents was not appreciated by the 1990 Advisory Committee, nor was it the understanding of the Archives of Ontario or the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations (MCCR). Though the Archives has thoroughly examined most of the county courthouses and collected numerous series of documents for centralized retention, the Archives and MCCR accepted the common assumption that Land Registry Offices contained only land records and NEVER INVENTORIED THEIR HOLDINGS. Now at the last minute it has neither the staff nor the resources to undertake the task.
The individuals who first reported the variety of records to be found in the Land Registry Offices have, in response to this crisis, organized as the Association for the Preservation of Ontario's Land Registry Office Documents (APOLROD). When we formed APOLROD we recognized that this has been an issue for some time. However, it was also very clear that in difficult economic times -- when hospitals and health care, and other vital services are being cut -- we probably did not have much of a chance arguing that the government should keep all the records (that debate had been going nowhere for more than seven years).
Reluctantly accepting that not all the records could be kept by the government (either MCCR or the AO) APOLROD offered a practical, and what we think is a workable, solution. It is the aim of APOLROD to work cooperatively with the Archives of Ontario, MCCR, local Land Registry Offices, local heritage groups, academics and individuals to:
In the initial plan set out in the fall of 1996 by MCCR and the AO local groups we were going to be given until June of this year (1997) to come forward and offer to take the land records; they would have until the end of this year to actually remove them from a local land registry office. As a result of APOLROD's negotiations and inventory plan, we have been able to convince the AO and MCCR that such a timeline was unrealistic and unworkable. The new plan will allow for a full two years to complete an inventory, and once the inventory is complete to find local groups to take the records. We have been assured that no land records will be destroyed or removed from a local office for a period of "not more than two years." So, we have some small victories to celebrate. We wanted a stay of execution for the land records and we have achieved at least a more manageable timeline in which to work.
Needless to say, all of this is dependent on an inventory being done in every Land Registry Office. We feel quite strongly that this is a grass roots issue since it is the local heritage group members who will be working on the inventory, and it will be local heritage groups who have the opportunity to take the land records once an inventory is complete.
Please know that APOLROD is negotiating at the provincial level with the Archives of Ontario (AO) and the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations (MCCR) to achieve a realistic approach to this problem. The key component of the APOLROD plan is our demand that an inventory of all Land Registry Offices be done before any discussion about disposal or dispersal of the documents occurs: We are prepared to coordinate that inventory. The details of the APOLROD plan and the latest revisions to the MCCR and Archives of Ontario proposal for the records is not known beyond senior officials of the ministries and representatives of Provincial heritage groups (OGS, OHS, Archives Association of Ontario) simply because these negotiations are continuing. We are doing what we can to let local heritage members and groups know about the negotiations and the latest steps underway as we begin to mobilize across the province.
APOLROD consists of volunteers who work with no funding. Given that we are only a few months old, you can imagine that it has been quite difficult to balance communication across the more than 2,500 heritage groups in this province. The need to act quickly and negotiate with the ministries to come to a realistic and workable solution for dealing with this problem is paramount. As a result, we have not begun to properly inform the heritage groups. APOLROD's web page can now be found at http://www.globalgenealogy.com/apolrod.htm
Membership is a mere five dollars which helps with postage costs. We are open to suggestions as we are by no means experts on all facets of this problem. We look forward to hearing from people who have knowledge/expertise/resources which can assist us in this vast undertaking.
Because we are all volunteers, we must avoid answering personal e-mail if at all possible; therefore, please visit our web site for more detailed information. Our website includes a number of documents which I hope will help explain this issue a little better. For example, some of the non-typical records we have found in the Land Registry Offices are listed there. Also, a list of all Land Registry Offices in the province (by county) can be found there. At the moment we have not included the text of either the fall 1996 plan put forward by the Archives and MCCR, nor have we included the details of current negotiations. We hope to include these on the web site graudally. If your questions are not answered immediately, please check back on the web site periodically as this process unfolds. If after your visit you still have questions, or better still you would like to offer your help to inventory a Land Registry Office in your area, feel free to e-mail us at that point. If you would l ike to write to us, our address is:
APOLROD
Association for the Preservation of Ontario Land Registry Office
Documents
251 Second Street
Stouffville ON L4A 1B9
Importance of Land Records as Genealogical Tools
For more information on Ontario land records, see the article "The Importance of Land Records as Genealogical Tools."
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