We get lots of these calls every year and we advise people in this situation to try and first work with the adjoining owner to have the monument re-established by an OLS. We often act as mediators between parties in these situations and typically they would share costs for the work involved. When an adjoining owner is uncooperative and refuses to be part of a solution, we often advise you to file a police incident report to capture the event. While the removal of a survey monument is an offense under the Criminal Code of Canada, it has been our experience that it is very hard to prosecute someone. This can be done either in tandem with — or in place of — involving a solicitor who will work to protect your interests. The hard reality is that in many instances one party gets stuck ‘footing the bill’ for the replacement of survey monuments that wind up benefiting both owners.
