Public Ownership

• Author: Elaine L. Hughes, Arlene J. Kwasniak, Alastair R. Lucas
• Pages: 89-99

89

CHAPTER 4

PUBLIC

OWN ER SHIP

Alastair R Lucas

A. INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, Canadian public land law and policy has been primar-

ily about privatization. The general assumption was that optimal land

use required privatization so that private entities could embark upon

the process of development and exploitation. Specif‌ically, there were

two major categories of grant — free homestead grants to settlers and

substantial grants to railway companies to fund development of a na-

tional transportation network. Until about 1930, these were the main

elements of the Dominion Lands Policy aimed at nation building.1

At Confederation, there were exceptions, but these were largely

concerned with works and undertakings — critical infrastructure and

directly related lands — that served the general public as well as the

developers of public lands. Apart from road allowances, the division

of property made by the British North America Act is illustrative. By

section 109, “All Lands, Mines, Minerals and Royalties” within prov-

incial boundaries were to “belong” to those provinces.2 But the federal

government retained the public works and property listed in the Third

Schedule, including canals, public harbours, public marine vessels,

railways, military roads, public buildings devoted to federal matters,

1 RC Brown, “For the Pur poses of the Dominion: Backg round Paper on the His-

tory of Federal Publ ic Lands Policy to 1930” in JG Nelson, RC Scace, & R Kour i,

eds, Canadia n Public Land Use in Perspective (Ottawa: Socia l Science Research

Council, 1974) 5 at 7 [Canadian Public Land Use].

2 British North Amer ica Act, 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, s 109 [BNA Act].