Pauline Diamond looks out the window of the Catalina home where she has lived for nearly 40 years, rocking in a chair, remembering the past. Her children built forts in the nearby woods, sledded the rolling hills, and played near the Atlantic Ocean. Now it’s time for Pauline and her husband, Randy, to move on. But they can’t. “I don’t know. I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Pauline said, shaking her head. About two years ago, the Diamonds decided to sell the house they had lived in since the early 1980s and move into an accessible apartment. They secured a buyer – family friends who wanted to move into the house – and proceeded to silence the titles in order to clear up any potential disputes over the land. Then the problems started. The provincial government claims that, according to its records, Pauline and Randy’s home is on Crown land. Pauline, left, and Randy Diamond have lived in their Catalina home for nearly 40 years. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) According to the government, the lawn where their children played, the garden where Randy grew vegetables and the house where Pauline raised their family never belonged to the Diamonds. “We don’t know where we are or where to go next,” Pauline said.
Short time
In 1981, Pauline’s father bought the plot, dividing it among his three children. Pauline and Randy finished building a house on the lot in 1984. The family has title to the land, but that’s not enough. The Diamonds say no one from the provincial government has ever contacted them to tell them there was a problem. They were paying property taxes to the city of Catalina — and they provided those records to CBC News. The Diamonds have nearly 40 years of memories in their home — but now it’s time to move on. (Submitted by Penny Kennedy) The Diamonds plan to take the case to court — which will cost thousands of dollars as well as another, more valuable resource: time. “I was diagnosed there three years ago, three and a half years ago — lung and bone cancer,” said Pauline, who turned 67 this year. She was given three to five years to live, and that was more than three years ago. They are due to go to court in September 2023. “I want to fix them. I want everything to be fixed,” Pauline said through tears. “It’s time for it to end. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried to fix it.” The Diamonds have left the house because Pauline could no longer walk up and down the stairs. Eventually, with the money from the sale of the house, they plan to buy a new vehicle to take Pauline to her oncology appointments.
“This is our home”
Penny Kennedy, one of Pauline’s daughters, remembers Catalina’s 1980s childhood of exploration, nature and family. He watched the area change over the decades as roads moved, the landscape changed, people left and others returned. “The one thing that remains the same is that this is our home,” he said. “The government is now trying to say it’s not. It’s their land.” Penny Kennedy, the Diamonds’ daughter, says her childhood in Catalina was “amazing.” (Darrell Roberts/CBC) Kennedy has been trying to help her parents deal with the situation, but there is not much she can do. “My only wish is for it to be settled and once it is settled, they can have a better life – for however long that is,” he said. A spokesman for Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Derrick Bragg declined multiple requests for an interview and said the department could not comment on specific cases before the courts. In a statement provided to CBC News, the department said the Crown Lands division recognizes the process can be frustrating, but has a legal duty to manage and allocate provincial Crown lands in a “responsible manner.” “When any petitioner applies for a certificate of title under the Quiet of Titles Act, the Crown Lands Department has a legal duty to examine the application and challenge the claim if any of the lands referred to as Crown land. The review of such a matter would follow the same process as hundreds of other applications filed or served on the Crown under the Quieting of Titles Act,” the statement said. “The Crown Lands Division does not prevent land from being sold; the decision whether to seek land investigation through the courts under the Quieting of Titles Act is between an individual and their private solicitor.”
Temporarily homeless
Two years ago, when Randy and Pauline put their house on the market, the Hart family thought they had found their dream home. Jeremy, Kayla and their daughter Sophia Stagg, 10, were ready to fill the Diamonds’ home with their own memories. Kayla Hart, Sophia Stagg and Jeremy Hart have moved into the Diamonds’ house, hoping to eventually buy it. (Darrell Roberts) They have already sold their previous home when they found out they would not be able to buy Randy and Pauline’s home. For about 16 hours, the Harts believed they were homeless. “We sat down with Randy and Pauline and told them the situation and, I mean, they apologized,” Jeremy said. “You know, they were as good as gold.” The Diamonds let the Hart family move into the house, believing they would be the owners within months. But that didn’t happen. “We don’t know if this will ever be resolved,” Jeremy said.
Problematic bureaucracy
The problem is bigger than Diamonds.
The Crown Lands map on the provincial government’s website shows thousands of people across Newfoundland and Labrador – including St. John’s – potentially living on Crown land.
Squatter’s rights in Newfoundland and Labrador were abolished in 1976 and proving possession of Crown land after that year becomes more difficult.
Greg French, a real estate attorney in Clarenville, said the problem is partly related to paperwork.
“People understand that they own land, and they occupy their land in good faith and pay their taxes, live on it and occupy it. But it’s not properly documented,” he said.
Real estate lawyer Greg French says potentially thousands of people across Newfoundland and Labrador – especially in rural areas – could be affected by disputes over Crown land. (Darrell Roberts/CBC)
French is representing the Diamonds, though he says he cannot comment on their case because it is before the courts. He said he is currently working on a dozen similar cases.
Earlier this year, he authored a report on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association calling on the government to restore squatters’ rights for certain tenures.
A matter of ages
Craig Pardy, PC MHA for the Bonavista area, said the problem is significant in his area, where communities like Trinity have been settled for centuries. “There are a lot of people who have lived on this land for maybe hundreds of years, families who don’t have title and will have a hard time getting clear title to the land,” he said. Craig Pardy, PC MHA for Bonavista, wants the provincial government to change the rules on adverse possession of Crown lands. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) Pardi has petitioned the House of Assembly, asking the provincial government to review the law. In 2015, the provincial government commissioned a review of the Land Act, but the review did not propose changes to squatter rights rules. Almost a year away from their court, the Diamonds don’t know what’s in store for them. Pauline says the uncertainty has been stressful – especially considering her illness. She said she wants the Harts to be able to build a life at home, like her family did. “It’s good memories here. Really good memories,” he said. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
