UNCLOS

When Canada became signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the Fall of 1993, the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS) recognized its responsibility to the people of Canada to insure that the limits of Canada’s rights in the offshore are reliably and unambiguously defined. Furthermore, the Association has a responsibility to ensure that the limits are defined in a manner which facilitates the easy administration of the rights by the Government of Canada and the exploitation of those rights by developers. This responsibility was realized because the Canada Lands Surveys Act defines Canada Lands to include, amongst other areas;

• any lands under water belonging to Her Majesty in right of Canada or in respect of any rights in which the Government of Canada has power to dispose.

Since Canada signed on to UNCLOS and began preparing its submission for the United Nations’ Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), the ACLS Offshore Issues Committee has actively monitored these developments, and has created an UNCLOS Task Force to focus on this matter. This Task Force has prepared a position paper entitled: The Need for Canada Lands Surveyors to Define Canada’s Offshore Lands

For more information on Canada’s extended Continental Shelf, click here