Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Public Documents Act.

Marginal note:Public documents of Canada

• 2 (1) Unless some Act relating thereto expressly so provides, no commission or other public document under the Great Seal or under the Privy Seal of the Governor General, no letters patent of Canada and no public writ, deed or other document thereof, or any portion of any such document, is required to be on parchment, but, when written or printed wholly or in part on paper, is as valid in all respects as if written or printed on parchment.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as declaring that it was necessary to the validity of any document described in subsection (1) signed, sealed or executed before June 22, 1869 that the document or any part thereof should be on parchment.

Marginal note:Defective letters patent

• 3 (1) Where letters patent under the Great Seal, other than letters patent that grant lands, or instruments under the Privy Seal of the Governor General or person administering the Government of Canada, have been issued to or in the name of the wrong person, or contain any clerical error or misnomer or wrong description of any material fact therein, the Registrar General of Canada, when authorized by the Governor in Council, may direct that the defective letters patent or instruments be cancelled, that a minute of the cancellation be entered in the margin of the registry of the original letters patent or other instruments and that correct letters patent under the Great Seal or instruments under the Privy Seal be issued in their stead.

• Marginal note:Effect

  (2) Correct letters patent or instruments issued pursuant to subsection (1) relate back to the date of those cancelled.