Evolution Through Consultation

by Ian Smith

Doing business over the Internet is both revered and feared, but the Internet’s appearance in almost every aspect of life is a fact.

The Land Title system in B.C. is no exception. On each of the occasions of major change, computerization in the 1980s, implementing an imaging system in the 1990s, and the 2004 introduction of the Electronic Filing System (EFS), the fears have been: “The IT systems will fail.” “What about the registry agents?” “Lawyers will have to take on more of the work, and what then?”

The LTSA has always taken the fears and concerns of all Land Title users very seriously. EFS meets the demand for modern e-business solutions, and has been developed in consultation with the professionals who regularly file at the Land Title Offices:

The EFS Committee, representing users, advises the LTSA on how best to proceed with system and practice-related matters.

Registry agents have been meeting with the LTSA since 1998, when EFS was merely a concept. This led to agents being able to electronically submit professionally certified documents on a legal professional’s behalf, as they do for paper documents. In this way, the important function of a “second set of eyes” is preserved.

The LTSA Stakeholder Advisory Committee and CBABC Real Property Section Chairs have been providing input into EFS enhancements.

Security is continually under review to ensure the land title system is as failsafe as possible. Risk assessment is second nature to the EFS team. The risks one doesn’t run using EFS (documents lost in transit, courier delays, traffic jams, documents not being

completed in time for courier or office deadline) combined with a structure designed to avoid fraud, have produced a system that is attracting the attention of other jurisdictions in Canada and across the world.

EFS has transformed conveyancing for real property professionals, and for many is the preferred method of filing documents. On October 30, 2008, 53 per cent of freehold transactions and 66 per cent of mortgages were filed electronically. Sixty per cent of all notaries now file electronically, and 69 per cent of all eligible Crown land survey plans were submitted electronically during 2007-08. Several law firms have directed their staff to use EFS for all filings where possible, and leading registry agents in B.C. file electronically on behalf of clients. Ask any regular user what benefits EFS brings and you will hear: “It makes my business more efficient and cuts costs.” “Filing is faster and more secure;” “EFS has enhanced my customer service;” “I file at times convenient for me and my client;” “It doesn’t matter where I am, I can still file.” As one owner of a registry agent company says, “EFS has grown my business – we have more clients using us because we use EFS.”

The LTSA’s objective is that it should be possible to electronically file anything that can be filed on paper. Documents are becoming “electronically enabled” all the time – Power of Attorney will be added soon.

Where EFS is used, it becomes the obvious choice. It also enables the LTSA to enhance its own services, and to ensure the fast, efficient turnaround of documents.

In addition to internal efforts to improve consistency around examination decisions, continued consultation with our lawyer, notary, registry agent and land surveyor, customers will ensure that EFS evolves to meet everyone’s needs.

Ian C.B. Smith, Director of Land Titles, Land Title & Survey Authority of B.C. (LTSA)

This article was published in the December 2008 issue of BarTalk. © 2008 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.