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In This Volume

  • 205 (1) A sheriff, after delivery to him or her of a writ affecting land may, on behalf of the Crown for the purpose of enforcing or recovery of a debt due to the Crown, apply to register, in the same manner as a charge is registered, a copy of the writ against the title to the land registered in the name of the debtor.
  • (2) The copy of the writ referred to in subsection (1) must be certified as a true copy by the sheriff or the registrar of the issuing court.
  • (3) If a writ is not registered, a purchaser in good faith of the land of the debtor to the Crown takes free of it.
  • (4) Sections 212 and 213 apply to a writ registered under this section as if the writ were a judgment.

1979-219-200.

FORMS

Application in Form 17

The registrar requires an application for the registration of a writ in Form 17, in electronic form.

Submissions

On the Form 17 Charge, Notation or Filing, select Nature of Interest, Crown Debt, and attach a copy of the writ certified by the sheriff or the registrar of the issuing court.

CROSS REFERENCES AND OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

See Di Castri, Registration of Title to Land, vol. 3, para. 971.

CASE LAW

Writs in Favour of the Federal Crown

Where the federal Crown obtains a writ of extent in aid of judgment, that writ takes precedence over a previously registered judgment by virtue of the Royal Prerogative. The provincial legislature has no power to affect the prerogative of the Crown in right of Canada. Where the Crown files a writ of extent for the purpose of warning persons that the Crown has an unsatisfied debt, it does not seek the protection of the provincial statute or abandon its prerogative (Emerson v. Simpson, 1962 CanLII 352 (BC SC)).

Registration against Land Held in Joint Tenancy

Registration of a writ of extent does not sever a joint tenancy but merely binds the lands in a limited manner. The four unities of interest, title, possession, and time, which are essential for a joint tenancy, remain intact until the land is placed in execution by seizure for the purpose of sale (Re McDonald, 1969 CanLII 715 (BC SC)).