Beginning November 30, 2020, any time an application is made to register an interest in land as defined in section 1 of LOTA, a transparency declaration must be filed with the LOTA administrator by each An individual to whom an interest in land is transferred. transferee .

• Whether the transferee is a A relevant corporation, a trustee of a relevant trust or a partner of a relevant partnership that is required to file a transparency report under LOTA. reporting body ;
• If the transferee is a reporting body, whether the reporting body is a relevant corporation, a trustee of a relevant trust or a partner of a relevant partnership.

A transferee that is a reporting body must also complete and file a A report that is filed with a transparency declaration on an application to register an interest in land, if the transferee is a reporting body. transparency report setting out information about the reporting body and its A beneficial owner of a relevant trust, a corporate interest holder of a relevant corporation, or a partnership interest holder of a relevant partnership. interest holders . Different information is required depending if the reporting body is a relevant corporation, relevant partnership or relevant trust.

An execution copy or a true copy of the execution copy is needed for the designate to apply their electronic signature. This means that the designate can email electronic copies of the completed transparency declaration and transparency report to the certifier of the reporting body.  The certifier must print and ‘wet-ink’ sign the forms or sign using a digital signature acceptable to the designate and return the certified forms to the designate.

Once the transparency records are signed by the certifier, and the designate has an execution copy or true copy in their possession, the designate can only then apply an electronic signature to the online form(s) and submit to the Registrar of Land Titles.

*If a transparency declaration is required, a transparency report may or may not be required depending on the circumstance.  Please refer s. 12 of the Land Owner Transparency Act for guidance.

Part 3 of the transparency declaration – Certifier information

This part of the transparency declaration requires that a person certify that the information on the declaration is correct and complete. They do this by signing the transparency declaration as a certifier.

Who may certify the transparency declaration

The person who certifies the declaration must be one of the following:

• The transferee – the person who will be the registered owner of the interest in land after the application is submitted

or

• Another person that the transferee or reporting body has authorized to sign for them, such as a director or officer of a corporation.  They do not have to be a lawyer or notary public, but must be an adult with knowledge of the matters certified.

How many certifiers are required?

The transparency declaration must be certified by every transferee or a person on their behalf. If there is only one transferee, then only one certifier is required.

Examples of excluded lands are:

• Treaty lands of a Treaty First Nation
• Recognized self-governing First Nations lands (e.g., Sechelt, Nisga’a)
• Reserve lands

Examples of excluded organizations are:

• Public corporations (listed on stock exchanges)
• Strata corporations
• Government bodies
• Charitable trusts

For a full list of those corporations, limited liability companies and trusts that are excluded from the definition of “reporting body,” please see Schedule 1 and 2 of LOTA.

Examples of excluded individuals are:

• Who are shareholders that do not own or control, alone or with others, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the equity (typically shares) or voting rights; or
• Who do not have the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove a majority of the directors.

Under section 42, a person other than a person who is a reporting body may, by application to the administrator, request that corrections or changes be made to a filed transparency report only after

• the person has made a written request to the reporting body to file a new transparency report under section 17 to correct or change the information,
• the reporting body has not filed a new transparency report with the correct information within three months

Who may apply

• an interest holder or settlor may apply to correct or change information about them or itself,
• a former reporting body may apply to correct or change information about the reporting body or about an interest holder or settlor of the reporting body.

An application to correct information must be submitted through myLTSA by an individual or a legal professional. Visit myLTSA Help to learn how to submit an application under Section 42.

Section 42 does not apply to a current reporting body who must file a new transparency report under section 17 of LOTA to correct or change information in a previous report.