CONTACT

Arnold Shuchat PREC Real Estate Blog

RSS

Property Rights Get a Boost from the Supreme Court of Canada

In a recent ruling of  the Supreme Court of Canada in Annapolis Group Inc. v. Halifax Regional Municipality,  2022 SCC 36, property rights got a major boost.  It has long been argued that onerous zoning by a municipality is akin to “a taking of property” which should trigger compensation under the relevant Expropriation Act.  However, that has not been the law.  In the above case, the City of Halifax refused development applications by the appellant preferring park use.  The court held that although the test of whether an interest in property had been taken has been set out in Canadian Pacific Railway Co. v. Vancouver (City),  [2006] 1 S.C.R. 227, 2006 SCC 5  as: (1) whether the public authority has acquired a beneficial interest in the property or flowing from it; and (2) whether the state action has removed all reasonable uses of the property, there need not be an actual beneficial interest acquired if an advantage had been conferred upon the municipality regardless of its intention. Therefore, evidence of an advantage conferred upon the municipality was adduceable by the appellant.

This significantly alters the CPR test above by broadening it to adjudicate as a question of fact as to whether an advantage has been conferred upon the relevant government instead of the test being whether an actual acquisition in some form has taken place.

Kudos to the Supreme Court of Canada!

Comments:

No comments

Post Your Comment:

Your email will not be published
Reciprocity Logo The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB.