Summary

The Miscellaneous Statutes (Public Registries Enhancement) Amendment Act, 2024 amends eleven provincial statutes to authorize registrars to verify the identities of people who search or file documents in public registries, to accept digital signatures on registry documents, and to regulate how registry information is accessed, disclosed, and used.

This act changes how Saskatchewan's public registries operate across eleven different laws. It gives registrars new authority to verify the identity of anyone who searches a registry, files documents, or is named in a document. The bill does not specify how identity will be verified or in what circumstances verification will be required, leaving those details to future regulations. The act also allows registrars to decide which digital signatures they will accept and who may use them. It authorizes registrars to share identity verification information with police, the RCMP, and the Canada Revenue Agency to assist investigations, and with other entities to be named in regulations. The act expands authority over how registry data can be used, including combining it with other information to develop products and services, as long as the use is deemed consistent with collection purposes or otherwise reasonable, justifiable, or in the public interest. The register of newspapers under The Libel and Slander Act is eliminated. The bill received royal assent on May 13, 2025, but does not come into force until proclaimed by order.