Introduction

• Author: Elaine L. Hughes, Arlene J. Kwasniak, Alastair R. Lucas
• Pages: 1-6

1

INTRODUCTION

A. ABOUT THE SUBJECT, ITS CRITICAL

IMPORTANCE, AND THE UNDERTAKING

Canada has b een def‌ined and shaped by its “Crown” or public lands

and public resources. Most of the surface land i n Canada, subject to

Aboriginal r ights, is owned by the federal, provincial, or territorial gov-

ernments. These governments a lso own, subject to Aborigin al rights,

the diverse resources w ithin Crown land s, and a variety of resources,

whether they occur within or outside of Crown surface land. Depending

on specif‌ic jurisdictions and circumstances, Crown resources include

subsurface mines or mi nerals; water and rights to use water; wildlife;

f‌ish; beds and shores of rivers; lake s and other water bodies; offshore

and seabed areas; and public land forests, soil, vegetation, and eco-

systems. Crown, or public, lands (used interchangeably in t his book)

and resources contain our past, present, and future wealth in the form

of natural, economic, heritage, and recreational resources and def‌ine

and ref‌lect our history and identity. Indeed, “wealth” is tr uly what

these resources repres ent, from the days of the fur trade to today’s oil

sands, and the expanding network of public land protected areas.

The need for conservation of these resources i s a long-standing issue.

Nineteenth century resource ext inctions and depletions in wildlife

populations, such as bison and whales, spurred early laws, yet through-

out the twentieth century resources continued to become signif‌icantly

depleted from their historic levels (e.g., timber, f‌isheries). Even as re-

source legislation moved to regulate rates of resource use, other kinds