In 2006, the Supreme Court made it easier for governments to destroy your property. A government was allowed to render your property worthless, and not compensate you so long as the government did not gain a “beneficial interest” in the property, meaning an ownership. In that case, the City of Vancouver had changed a by-law limiting the use of a rail line. Canadian Pacific Rail argued this was a de-facto expropriation. The Court sided with the City.
In 2022, the Court revised and expanded the definition of beneficial interest to better favour the interests of property owners. Before, “beneficial interest” meant the government had taken ownership of the property. Now, the Courts were saying the government only needed to gain an advantage in order for it to be considered expropriation, and eligible for compensation.
On May 1st, 2020, with the stroke of pen, the Liberal Government destroyed the value of property owned by hundreds of thousands of Canadians. At the time the Liberals announced they would create a program to take possession of the property and compensate the property owners.
After nearly six years, the Liberal Government announced a new plan. Instead of compensating all owners whose property’s value was destroyed, the government is holding a race. Property owners must now compete to be the first to complete their compensation claims. Based on the government’s initial estimates of the cost of compensation at approximately $750 million, they are now planning on only compensating around a third of property owners, with a budget of approximately $250 million.
Had the Liberals simply announced the prohibition and grandfathering of the property in 2020, they would have been able to argue they had not taken a “beneficial interest” in the property. Had the Liberals simply committed to destroying the property, they could have argued they were not gaining any beneficial interest, but they did not do that. Instead, they initially claimed they would take the property, compensate the owners, then give the property to Ukraine. That Ukraine declined the offer does not matter. The Liberals have publicly expressed an interest in taking the property of Canadians and using it to advance the beneficial interests of the government. Given the Supreme Court ruling in 2022, the Liberals must compensate every Canadian whose property’s value they destroyed.
Given the Liberals plan to begin the largest expropriation of private property in over a hundred years to build a high-speed white elephant, Canadians should be concerned the Carney Government is willing to ignore the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling on property rights.