CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Rachel V Hutton, Michael L Dyck, Mario Paura and Patrick Morin, Stikeman Elliott LLP
2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase Expropriation of real estate falls under both federal and provincial regulatory regimes. The federal government has authority to expropriate interests in land for public works or other pub - lic purposes, pursuant to the Expropriation Act (Canada). Each province and territory has similar legislation. Expropriation legislation across the country sets out procedural requirements for expropriating authorities, such as prescribed notice periods. Compensation is generally based on fair market value of the subject lands and may include costs and damages. 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transaction Transfer tax is imposed at the provincial level and is typically payable upon registration of the transfer instrument in the relevant land registry. Certain municipalities (such as the City of Toron - to, Ontario and various municipalities in Quebec) may levy land transfer tax in addition to the tax levied by the province. In Quebec, municipalities charge and collect transfer duties. Taxation rates vary across the country, from a high of 5% of the consideration for certain residential properties in Toronto, to no tax at all in Alberta, Newfound - land and Labrador, and parts of Nova Scotia. All provinces charge registration fees, which are generally nominal. In Ontario and Quebec, unregistered transfers of beneficial interests in real property are also taxed, subject to some exceptions. In Ontario (but not in Quebec), the transfer of an interest in a partnership that owns land is considered a taxable transfer of beneficial interest in that land. In most jurisdictions, the buyer is liable for the payment of land transfer tax and is typically
and provincial or territorial legislation; however, enforcement is primarily at the provincial or ter - ritorial level, and clean-up requirements vary. Although responsibility and liability to regulators, buyers and third parties for remediation general - ly rests with the seller or person that caused the contamination, subsequent owners, occupiers and those exercising control over real property can be liable for that contamination. This gener - ally occurs when the subsequent owner/occupi - er fails to perform diligence, knowingly accepts the environmental condition of the lands, and/ or contractually assumes environmental liability. Between buyers and sellers, environmental risk and liability are often allocated contractually by representations, warranties and indemnities and, in some cases, adjustment of the purchase price. However, parties cannot contract out of regulatory liability; their liability for environmental contamination is potentially unlimited, although certain provincial governments recognise the contractual allocation of liability. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law Permitted uses of a parcel under applicable zon - ing or planning law can be ascertained through enquiries with local planning authorities and review of municipal land-use by-law regulations. For larger developments, developers must enter into agreements with the applicable municipality to facilitate the development, whether to obtain construction approvals, subdivide the land, or change the applicable land-use by-laws. These agreements commonly relate to servicing and public facilities commitments, land dedications and bonding.
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