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The situation is different in Prince EdwardIsland. The Land Protection Act restrictsland ownership by limiting the aggregateamount of land a person (resident or nonresident)may own to 1,000 acres and acorporation to 3,000 acres. In certaincircumstances the Lieutenant Governor inCouncil (“Executive Council”) controls theamount of land a non-resident orcorporation may acquire. A non-resident orcorporation must make an application to theIsland Regulatory and Appeals Commission(“IRAC”) for approval of a land acquisition ifthey have an aggregate land holding inexcess of 5 acres or have shore frontage inexcess of 165 feet. IRAC reviews theapplication and makes a recommendation toExecutive Council. Executive Council maydecide to approve, approve withidentification, approve with conditions ordeny an application for land acquisition.Land Registration systemsAll provinces have a public system of landregistration administered by provincialauthorities through which title to land can beinvestigated and transferred. Generallythere are two systems of land registration:the “registry” system and the “land titles”system.Registry SystemsUnder the registry system the emphasis ison the names of the people owning lands.Grantor/Grantee indices list the names ofthe entities/persons named as parties to thedocuments filed in the registry. There is nolisting of the lands themselves. Title isconfirmed by searching back to a “good rootof title”, the characteristics of which differaccording to the province the land is in, toensure that there is an unbroken chain ofvalid conveyances from the “earliest” one tothe current owner and to determine whatvalid encumbrances (easements,restrictions, mortgages, etc) may still affectthe title. The title search determineswhether the lawyer can certify the title.Unfortunately, there are many differentkinds of problems to be found. Afundamental problem is a gap in the title,either because no document exists (e.g., Aconveyed to B and C conveyed to D but Bdid not convey to C), or because there is aproblem with the document on record (e.g.,B purported to convey to C but the legaldescription was defective or B did not havethe interest which he purported to convey orB was legally incapable of executing thedeed himself, to cite a few examples). Theremay be a restriction on the use of the landor an easement which affects the enjoymentof the land. A common problem is oldunreleased mortgages.Very often there are solutions to theproblems. Sometimes the problem existsbut the risk of it leading to an issue in thepresent is so small that it is simply acceptedand not allowed to affect the currenttransaction. Sometimes title insurance willcover the risk, though it should be notedthat if the underwriters think that there is areal possibility that the problem will lead tolosses, then coverage will be denied.Land Titles SystemsOne of the advantages of the land titlessystems is that the ownership of the landsand, to some extent, the benefits andburdens on title are warranted by theprovince. Under this system, the lands inReal Estate Law 67