The importance of preserving survey monuments

The practice of using survey monuments in the ground goes back hundreds of years and is very often the only means by which property boundaries are physically marked. If they are found in good condition and remain undisturbed, they usually legal precedence over other forms of evidence such as occupation, deed descriptions, and measurements. Even fences are considered auxiliary markers that do not necessarily mark the actual boundary or corners. The protection of survey monuments is so important that wilful acts of removal and interference with these boundary markers is a crime.

Land owners and their contractors are encouraged to work closely together to make sure survey monuments are clearly marked out, protected, and preserved. If it is required to remove them when doing any construction near the boundary line, hire a licensed Ontario Land Surveyor first to document the situation so they can replace the monuments after construction is complete.