Virtual Witnessing and Commissioning

The need for virtual witnessing and commissioning is becoming increasingly common, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Indian Lands Registry will follow Provincial remote commissioning regulations for the registration of instruments in the Indian Lands Registry SystemClosed The ILRS is a repository of documentation and does not purport to guarantee title or accuracy of documentation filed therein.  It is guided by a set of interacting procedures designed to govern the registration of rights in reserve lands..

According to the Law Society of Ontario’s website, the practice of commissioning, including remote commissioning, is governed by provincial legislation, the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act (the “Act”). Commissioners for taking affidavits are entitled to administer oaths and take affidavits and statutory declarations. These are typically important legal documents that have evidentiary value in court and confirm accuracy for government offices.

The commissioner is responsible for verifying the deponent’s identity, administering an oath, witnessing the deponent’s signature, satisfying himself or herself as to the genuineness of the deponent’s signature, and executing the document by signing the jurat (which includes the manner in which the oath or declaration was administered, as well as the date on which and the location where the document was executed).

Remote commissioning is an authentication and signature process for taking affidavits and statutory declarations that uses audio-visual technology. It is therefore not conducted in the physical presence of the commissioner. An example of remote commissioning is a lawyer or paralegal who meets with a client via a video conferencing system and directs the client to sign the relevant legal document that is visible to the lawyer or paralegal through video. The client then returns the original executed document to the lawyer or paralegal who, upon receipt, signs the document as a witness to the client’s signature. Another example is a client and a lawyer or paralegal logging into the same platform to view and electronically sign the same document simultaneously, despite being in different physical locations.

Please see the following resources.