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Why Property Rights Were Excluded from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

Alexander Alvaro
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Abstract

The Constitution Act, 1867, contained what were intended to be strong protections of property ownership. These protections gradually eroded, as property was subordinated to democratic will and legislation. The “property rights” debate took place in this context. Those provinces which opposed the property rights clause wanted to safeguard the supremacy of democratic institutions from the potential ramifications posed by such a clause. The federal government, the proponent of the clause, did not intend that such supremacy be usurped. However, the clause was never crucial to the Charter and the federal government abandoned the clause in order to achieve provincial agreement on patriation of the constitution.

Résumé

La Loi constitutionnelle de 1867 avait un contenu visant à protéger les droits de propriété. Ces mesures de protection se sont graduellement estompées pendant que la propriété a été soumise à la volonté démocratique et à la législation. Le débat sur les « droits de propriété » s'est tenu dans ce contexte. Les provinces qui se sont opposées à la clause des droits de propriété ont toujours craint la perte de la suprématie des institutions démocratiques à cause des implications possibles d'une telle clause. Le gouvernement fédéral, partisan de la clause en question, n'avait aucunement l'intention de faire en sorte que cette suprématie soit usurpée. Mais la clause n'a jamais eu un caractère décisif pour la charte et le gouvernement fédéral a laissé tomber ladite clause en vue de conclure une entente avec les provinces au niveau du rapatriement constitutionnel.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 1991 , pp. 309 - 329
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1991

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