Federal Real Property and Federal Immovables Act (S.C. 1991, c. 50)

Application of Other Laws

Marginal note:Acquisition under provincial Act

13 Except as expressly authorized by or under an Act of Parliament, no person acquires any federal real property or federal immovable by or under a provincial Act.

Marginal note:No title by prescription

14 No person acquires any federal real property or federal immovable by prescription.

Minister of Justice

Marginal note:Powers of Minister of Justice

• 15 (1) The Minister of Justice may, for purposes of the acquisition or disposition of, or any dealing with, any real property or immovable, on behalf of Her Majesty,

  • (a) determine the type of instrument or act to be used for those purposes and settle and approve the form and legal content of any Crown grant or other instrument or act;

  • (b) effect the delivery of any instrument or act, including its delivery on terms or subject to conditions satisfactory to the Minister of Justice, whether or not the satisfaction or removal of the terms or conditions will result in the delivery becoming absolute; and

  • (c) give and accept any undertakings from an advocate or a notary of the Province of Quebec or a barrister or solicitor of any other province that are in the opinion of the Minister of Justice necessary for or incidental to the completion of a transaction concerning real property or immovables, including undertakings respecting the delivery of any instrument or act and the payment of any purchase price or other moneys.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice and the Treasury Board, make regulations respecting

  • (a) the referral of specified classes of transactions concerning real property or immovables within or outside Canada to the Minister of Justice for settlement and approval of the form and legal content of instruments or acts or for other purposes; and

  • (b) the establishment and operation of a depository for the deposit of copies of instruments and acts relating to federal real property and federal immovables other than instruments and acts issued under the Great Seal.

Authority for Dispositions, Acquisitions and Administrative Transfers

Marginal note:Powers of Governor in Council

• 16 (1) Despite any regulations made under subsection (2), the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, in accordance with any terms and subject to any conditions and restrictions that the Governor in Council considers advisable,

  • (a) authorize the disposition or lease of federal real property or federal immovables for which disposition or lease there is no provision in or under any other Act;

  • (b) authorize the acquisition or lease of real property or immovables on behalf of Her Majesty;

  • (c) authorize the giving or acquisition on behalf of Her Majesty of any licence or the transfer between Ministers of administrative responsibility in relation to any licence acquired by Her Majesty;

  • (d) authorize, on behalf of Her Majesty, a surrender or resiliation of any lease of which Her Majesty is the lessee or the relinquishment of any licence of which Her Majesty is the licensee, or the acceptance of the surrender or resiliation of any lease of which Her Majesty is the lessor or the acceptance of the relinquishment of any licence of which Her Majesty is the licensor;

  • (e) transfer to Her Majesty in any right other than Canada administration and control of the entire or any lesser interest, or any right, of Her Majesty in any federal real property or federal immovable, either in perpetuity or for any lesser term;

  • (f) accept, on behalf of Her Majesty, the transfer of administration and control of real property or immovables from Her Majesty in any right other than Canada, including any such transfer made by grant, concession, vesting order, other conveyancing instrument or other transfer act;

  • (g) despite any other Act, transfer the administration of federal real property or federal immovables from one Minister to another, from a Minister to an agent corporation or from an agent corporation to a Minister;

  • (h) authorize a grant of any federal real property or concession of any federal immovable to a corporation that has the administration of the property or to any person designated by that corporation;

  • (i) authorize the grant of any federal real property or the concession of federal immovables by Her Majesty to Herself;

  • (j) dedicate or authorize the dedication of any federal real property or federal immovable for a road, utility, park or other public purpose, either in perpetuity or for any lesser term; or

  • (k) authorize the acceptance or the release or discharge, in whole or in part, on behalf of Her Majesty, of any security, by way of mortgage, hypothec or otherwise, in connection with any transaction authorized under this Act.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, make regulations

  • (a) respecting the disposition or lease of federal real property or federal immovables for which disposition or lease there is no provision in or under any other Act;

  • (b) respecting the acquisition or lease of real property or immovables on behalf of Her Majesty;

  • (c) respecting the giving and acquisition of licences on behalf of Her Majesty and the transfer between Ministers of administrative responsibility in relation to licences acquired by Her Majesty;

  • (d) respecting the surrender and resiliation of leases of which Her Majesty is the lessee and the relinquishment of licences of which Her Majesty is the licensee, and the acceptance of surrenders and resiliations of leases of which Her Majesty is the lessor and the acceptance of relinquishments of licences of which Her Majesty is the licensor;

  • (e) respecting the transfer to Her Majesty in any right other than Canada, by instrument or act satisfactory to the Minister of Justice, of administration and control of the entire or any lesser interest, or any right, of Her Majesty in federal real property or federal immovables, either in perpetuity or for any lesser term;

  • (f) respecting the acceptance, on behalf of Her Majesty, of transfers of administration and control satisfactory to the Minister of Justice of real property or immovables from Her Majesty in any right other than Canada, including any such transfer made by grant, concession, vesting order, other conveyancing instrument or other transfer act;

  • (g) respecting the transfer of the administration of federal real property or federal immovables by one Minister to another, by a Minister to an agent corporation or by an agent corporation to a Minister;

  • (h) respecting the acceptance or the release or discharge, in whole or in part, on behalf of Her Majesty, of any security, by way of mortgage, hypothec or otherwise, in connection with transactions authorized under regulations made under this subsection;

  • (i) authorizing the provision of utilities and other services on or from federal real property or federal immovables and the imposition of fees, charges and rates for those services;

  • (j) imposing fees for the provision of copies of maps, plans, field notes, documents, papers and other records pertaining to federal real property or federal immovables, for the preparation of documents evidencing a disposition or lease of federal real property or federal immovables and for the deposit in a department of documents relating to federal real property or federal immovables;

  • (k) establishing a formula for determining the rate of interest to be paid with respect to the purchase money, rent or other consideration for federal real property or federal immovables disposed of, leased, licensed or otherwise dealt with under this Act; and

  • (l) respecting the dedication, in perpetuity or for a lesser term, of any federal real property or federal immovable for a road or utility purpose.

• Marginal note:Exercise of powers

  (3) A Minister may authorize in writing any other Minister to exercise on the authorizing Minister’s behalf any power in relation to any transaction or class of transactions that has been or may be authorized under subsection (1) or under regulations made pursuant to subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Limits and restrictions

  (4) The Treasury Board may, generally or with respect to any Minister, establish financial or other limits, restrictions or requirements respecting any transaction or class of transactions authorized under regulations made pursuant to subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Saving

  (5) No limit, restriction or requirement established under subsection (4) and no regulation or direction made under section 41 of the Financial Administration Act derogates from the authority of a Minister under this Act to enter into a transaction or affects the validity of a transaction entered into pursuant to such authority.

• Marginal note:Rent

  (6) Despite the Financial Administration Act, if a lease of federal real property or federal immovables or a licence in respect of any such property is authorized under this Act, the amount of the rent or other consideration charged for the lease or licence may, subject to the order or regulations by which it is authorized, be less than, equal to or more than the costs borne by Her Majesty in relation to the property.

• Marginal note:Acquisition of shares

  (7) Where an acquisition or a lease is authorized under this Act in relation to

  • (a) real property in a condominium project or an immovable under divided co-ownership,

  • (b) real property or an immovable in a co-operative project, or

  • (c) real property or an immovable in any similar project,

  that authorization also constitutes the authority for the acquisition of a share, membership interest or ownership interest in the relevant condominium corporation, syndicate of co-owners, co-operative corporation or similar corporation, to the extent that the acquisition of the share, membership interest or ownership interest is required by, or effected by, the law of the jurisdiction in which the project is situated.

Marginal note:Territorial lands

• 17 (1) Despite section 3 of the Territorial Lands Act, sections 13 to 16 and 19 of that Act apply in respect of all federal real property in Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Yukon and Northwest Territories

  (1.1) Sections 13 to 16 and 19 of the Territorial Lands Act apply in respect of federal real property in Yukon or the Northwest Territories that is under the administration of a minister or an agent corporation.

• Marginal note:Administration — Minister of Northern Affairs

  (2) If any federal real property in Nunavut or any federal real property that is described in subsection (1.1) is granted in fee simple under this Act, the Minister of Northern Affairs has the administration of any property and rights that are reserved from the grant by virtue of subsection (1) or (1.1).

• Marginal note:Administration — interest other than fee simple

  (3) If an interest — other than the fee simple in that federal real property — that is under the administration of a minister is granted under this Act, that minister retains the administration of the property and rights that are reserved from the grant by virtue of subsection (1) or (1.1).

Marginal note:Administration by Minister

• 18 (1) Any federal real property or federal immovable acquired or leased for the purposes of a Minister’s department, including any such property acquired by way of a transfer of administration and control from Her Majesty in any right other than Canada, is under the administration of that Minister for the purposes of that department.

• Marginal note:Administration by Minister

  (2) Where a Minister has, in relation to a department, by or under any Act or any order of the Governor in Council, the “administration”, “management”, “administration and control”, “control, management and administration”, “management, charge and direction” or another similarly expressed power in relation to any federal real property or federal immovable, that property is under the administration of that Minister for the purposes of that department.

• Marginal note:Continuity of administration

  (3) Any federal real property or federal immovable that is under the administration of a Minister for the purposes of a department remains under the administration of that Minister for the purposes of that department until a change of administration is effected under section 16 or on the authority or direction of the Governor in Council.

• Marginal note:Consequences of administration

  (4) Where any federal real property or federal immovable is under the administration of a Minister for the purposes of a department, that Minister has the right to the use of that property for the purposes of that department, subject to any conditions or restrictions imposed by or under this or any other Act or any order of the Governor in Council, but is not entitled by reason only of the administration of the property to dispose of it or to retain the proceeds of its use or disposition or the fruits and revenues of its use.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (5) For greater certainty, a Minister may have the administration of federal real property or federal immovables for the purposes of any department of which that Minister is the Minister.

• Marginal note:Signature is evidence

  (5.1) Despite subsections (1) to (3), if a Minister is satisfied that the federal real property or federal immovable described in an instrument or act referred to in section 5 or 11, a licence referred to in section 6 or a plan referred to in section 7 is under the Minister’s administration, that property is deemed to be under the administration of the Minister and the signature of the Minister on the instrument, act, licence or plan is conclusive evidence that the Minister is so satisfied.

• Marginal note:Administration by corporation

  (6) If, by or under any Act or any order of the Governor in Council, a corporation has, by the use of any expression mentioned in subsection (2) or any similar expression, the right to the use of any federal real property or federal immovable, and no Minister has the administration of the property, the corporation has, for the purposes of paragraphs 16(1)(g) and (h) and (2)(g), the administration of that property.