This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

Silver Sands Realty Inc. ("Silver Sands") owned a large parcel of property, which the company believed included a pond called Cow Bay Pond. When Silver Sands attempted to subdivide the property into saleable parcels that included both dry land and pond water, a local MLA suggested that Cow Bay Pond was actually Crown land, and so could not be registered and sold as the property of Silver Sands. When the issue came before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the Court agreed that Cow Bay Pond is Crown land, by virtue of the provincial Water Act and Environment Act, which vest ownership of all provincial watercourses in the Province of Nova Scotia.

Before the trial began, Silver Sands sought leave to examine the Registrar General of Land Titles for discovery. The Province of Nova Scotia objected, taking the position that the Registrar has Crown immunity. After considering the relevant law and legal principles, the Court held that the Registrar has Crown immunity, and for that reason could not be examined for discovery.

To read related decisions, go to:

Silver Sands Realty Ltd v Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2007 NSSC 291 (CanLII)

Silver Sands Realty Ltd. v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2007 NSSC 292 (CanLII)

Silver Sands Realty Ltd. v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2006 NSSC 388 (CanLII)

Silver Sands Realty Ltd. v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2010 NSCA 28 (CanLII)

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2007/2007nssc75/2007nssc75.html

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