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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Constitutional Dimensions Of Aboriginal Title, Brian Slattery Aug 2015

The Constitutional Dimensions Of Aboriginal Title, Brian Slattery

Brian Slattery

As the Supreme Court reaffirms in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia (2014), Aboriginal title is a sui generis right which cannot be described in traditional property terms. This paper argues that the explanation for this fact is that Aboriginal title is not a concept of private law. It is a concept of public law. It does not deal with the rights of private entities but with the rights and powers of constitutional entities that form part of the Canadian federation. If we look for analogies to Aboriginal title, we find a close parallel in Provincial title – the rights held …


Common Law Property Theory And Jurisprudence In Canada, Sarah E. Hamill Jan 2015

Common Law Property Theory And Jurisprudence In Canada, Sarah E. Hamill

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In recent years, property theorists have offered varying accounts as to what exactly ownership is, typically focusing on one or more key rights to the owned thing. However, most of these theories are articulated in the abstract and do not engage the jurisprudence. This article uses the jurisprudence concerning expropriation and adverse possession to show that Canadian courts have in fact developed their own definition of ownership — one that is not reflected in the property theory discourse. The author goes on to argue that this narrower definition of ownership — made up by the rights to exclude and to …