1. RIGOROUS IMPACT EVALUATION OF LAND SURVEYING COSTS
RIGOROUS IMPACT EVALUATION
OF LAND SURVEYING COSTS
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EVIDENCE FROM INDIGENOUS LANDS IN CANADA

2. There are some 400,000 First Nation peoples living on some 3,100 First Nation Reserves in Canada

3. The on-Reserve (formal) property system dates to the early 1800s
The on-Reserve (formal) property system dates to the early 1800s. Formal land registrations with land surveys were deemed “an essential feature of the civilization process”

4. Why examine survey costs?

5. RATIONALE - general
Survey costs are one of the largest costs of registering property
They can comprise 30-60% of the total cost
High costs of surveying/mapping have created barriers to registering property

6. RATIONALE - Indigenous
Indigenous communities have, on average:
higher unemployment rates and lower individual incomes
More than twice as many Indigenous Canadian live in poverty compared to non-Indigenous Canadians.
Property values on-Reserve hold significantly less value than neighboring off-Reserve properties.
Low incomes + Low property values + High surveying costs = not a good situation.

7. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is the median cost to survey a parcel on Indigenous lands?
What factors influence that cost?

8. METHODOLOGY
Sample comprised 97 surveys on First Nation Reserves from
The surveys were performed by 54 different land surveyors
All 97 surveys were contracted by the Government of Canada to private sector land surveyors

9. DATA ON SEVEN OTHER VARIABLES
Area (ha)
Distance (km)
Number of parcels
Extent of existing surveys
Water boundaries
Company size
Population of the community

10. RESULTS MEDIAN COST - $4,300/PARCEL
COSTS RANGED FROM $508/PARCEL TO $23,460/PARCEL
FIVE OF THE SEVEN VARIABLES WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT

11. IMPACT ON COSTS Statistically significant:
Area
Distance
Number of parcels
Water boundaries
Company size
Taken together these 5 variables explain some 41% of the variation in survey costs.
Not statistically significant:
Extent of existing surveys (how much survey evidence is around to tie to)
Population

12. AREA
As the area increases by 1 ha, the cost of the survey increases by $34/parcel

13. Number of parcels
As the number of parcels increase by 1, the cost of the survey decreases by $112/parcel

14. Water boundaries
Including a water boundary in the survey increases the cost by $3090/parcel

15. Company size
Large firms are $1900/parcel cheaper than small firms, and medium size firms are $1500/parcel cheaper than small firms

16. Distance
As the distance travelled increases by 1 km, the cost of the survey increases by $2.40/parcel
Was not an overly substantial cost driver
A less remote, and more complex survey on the Kootenay Indian Reserve (97718 CLSR) - $3,700/parcel
A remote, less complex survey on the Waterhen Indian Reserve (97890 CLSR) – $4,200/parcel

17. SUMMARY Median cost to survey a parcel = $4,300
Survey Costs are highly impacted by Area, No. of parcels, water boundaries and company size.
Distance was a significant factor, but did not highly impact cost
The extent of existing surveys, and population had no impact on cost.

18. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Some questions are worth pondering from these findings:
Are the current costs reasonable?
How do such costs compare to similar non-Indigenous communities?
Should some of the significant cost drivers be addressed?
To what extent should a community’s property values and per-household income influence survey costs?