How we help you follow remote signing best practices in real estate closings
The LDD Remote Signing Portal is developed to follow guidelines and directives set out by either your provincial land registration regulations, law society directives or a combination of the two while conducting virtual closing meetings. To that end, we’ve worked in conjunction with applicable regulatory bodies and local real property lawyers to develop Remote Signing Protocols for several provinces across the country.
These protocols are available to you on the free portal in RealtiWeb (registration is free too). Here’s a summary of how we structured the protocol for each province.
Ontario
Developed in conjunction with FOLA’s Real Property practice group and in consultation with the Ontario Bar Association, this protocol sets out the requirements for a compliant procedure. From video conferencing to remote signing, the Ontario Remote Signing Protocol also includes the Law Society of Ontario’s bulletin on Virtual Commissioning (March 16). At the end of the pdf file is a Video Conference Checklist to help you stay on track.
British Columbia
Consulting with The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia, this protocol sets out the requirements for a compliant procedure. From video conferencing to remote signing, the BC Remote Signing Protocol also includes the LTSA’s Practice Bulletin 01-20 (April 6). At the end of the pdf file a Video Conference Checklist is there to help you stay on track. The checklist even includes specifics related to satisfying the affidavit of execution by an individual under s.49, Land Title Act.
Alberta
With the Law Society of Alberta’s guidance this protocol sets out requirements for a compliant procedure. From video conferencing to remote signing, the Alberta Remote Signing Protocol covers that and more. The LSA’s guidance and the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench announcement on video conferencing commissioning (March 25) are also included. The end of the document includes a checklist specific to the suggested protocol for Alberta.
Manitoba
In collaboration with the Law Society of Manitoba the Manitoba Remote Signing Protocol sets out requirements for a compliant procedure. This procedure covers video conferencing to remote signing, and even an extract from the Registrar-General’s Directive on April 1 and the LSM’s COVID-19 update: video witnessing of land titles documents. The end of the document includes the LSM’s video conference checklist.
Saskatchewan
With the Law Society of Saskatchewan’s guidance this protocol document sets out requirements for a compliant procedure. From video conferencing to remote signing, the Saskatchewan Remote Signing Protocol also includes the Law Society of Saskatchewan Practice Directive (March 26). The end of the protocol is a Video Conference Checklist that is specific to Saskatchewan and includes checkboxes for the Certificate of Lawyer and Form PD1 - Declaration of Lawyer forms. For more information on these forms, see our previous post.
Nova Scotia
With guidance from the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society this protocol sets out a compliant procedure. From video conferencing to remote signing, the Nova Scotia Remote Signing Protocol also includes the NSBS answers to questions and the Registrar General’s Directive (March 18). The end of the protocol is a Video Conference Checklist to help you stay on track.