Paul Warchuk: Property rights are 'precarious' in Canada
Inside Policy Talks4 Joulu 2025

Paul Warchuk: Property rights are 'precarious' in Canada

Across Canada, some of the most heated disputes – from housing restrictions to Indigenous land claims – turn on this question: how secure are Canadians’ property rights?

The answer may surprise you. Canada is one of the only developed democracies where property rights have no constitutional protection. That gap has real consequences. It can lead to family farms shuttered by regulation, homeowners caught in civil forfeiture, or even recent court decisions like Cowichan Tribes v. Canada which upended long-held assumptions about ownership itself.

To unpack these issues, University of New Brunswick law professor Paul Warchuk joins Inside Policy Talks. Warchuk is the author of a powerful new MLI paper on property rights in Canada, titled Beyond patchwork protection: Towards comprehensive property rights in Canadian law. In it, he traces the philosophical and legal evolution of property from early philosophers up to the Charter era. He argues that property is not only a private entitlement but a public trust that safeguards liberty and prosperity alike.

On the podcast, Warchuk tells Peter Copeland, deputy director of domestic policy at MLI, that “there is a lot of resistance to property rights,” perhaps stemming from the fact that not all Canadians believe these rights serve and protect them.

He added that while most Canadians feel their property rights are secure, the situation is “precarious” because despite some basic protections “it's very easy for government to override them.”

“If you find yourself in the circumstance of one of the unlucky few that is affected in this way,” says Warchuk, “your perspective would change completely, and you'd feel a little bit more of the injustice.”

Jaksot(117)

Double Trouble: The challenge of China and Russia (Live in Calgary)

Double Trouble: The challenge of China and Russia (Live in Calgary)

On December 3, 2024, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) hosted a live panel event in Calgary entitled: The challenge of China and Russia, in the Arctic and in our supply chains. The panel featured ...

12 Joulu 202459min

Indigenous entrepreneurs are going global – and succeeding: Ken Coates w/ Karen Ogen-Toews & Matt Vickers

Indigenous entrepreneurs are going global – and succeeding: Ken Coates w/ Karen Ogen-Toews & Matt Vickers

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the premier video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute!In this episode, Ken Coates, Director of Indigenous Affairs at MLI, sits down with Karen Ogen-Toews, Presid...

11 Joulu 202455min

Confiscating Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction: Double Trouble with Balkan Devlen and Aaron Gasch Burnett

Confiscating Russia's frozen assets for Ukraine's reconstruction: Double Trouble with Balkan Devlen and Aaron Gasch Burnett

Welcome to Double Trouble, a special foreign policy focused podcast series within MLI's Inside Policy Talks, to address the growing challenge of the Sino-Russian axis of authoritarianism facing the We...

5 Joulu 202435min

A Hereditary Chief's transformative vision: Ken Coates and Tyee Hasheukumiss (Richard George)

A Hereditary Chief's transformative vision: Ken Coates and Tyee Hasheukumiss (Richard George)

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the premier video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode, Ken Coates, Director of Indigenous Affairs at MLI, sits down with Tyee Hasheukumiss (Richa...

4 Joulu 20241h 2min

The evolving battlegrounds of free speech: Peter Copeland and Kristopher Kinsinger

The evolving battlegrounds of free speech: Peter Copeland and Kristopher Kinsinger

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the premier video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode, Peter Copeland, Deputy Director of MLI's Domestic Program, is joined by Kristopher Kinsing...

19 Marras 202447min

Trouble at the Canada-US border? Alex Dalziel and Jamie Tronnes

Trouble at the Canada-US border? Alex Dalziel and Jamie Tronnes

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the premier video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode, Alex Dalziel, Senior Fellow and National Security Project Lead at MLI, sits down with Jami...

15 Marras 202418min

Canada’s struggle against transnational crime & money laundering: Alex Dalziel and Jamie Ferrill

Canada’s struggle against transnational crime & money laundering: Alex Dalziel and Jamie Ferrill

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the premier video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode, Alex Dalziel sits down with Jamie Ferrill, Head of Financial Crime Studies & Lecturer at t...

5 Marras 202433min

The disturbing truth of Canada’s euthanasia program: Peter Copeland and Ramona Coelho

The disturbing truth of Canada’s euthanasia program: Peter Copeland and Ramona Coelho

Welcome to Inside Policy, the flagship video podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode, Peter Copeland, Deputy Director of MLI’s Domestic Policy Program, is joined by Senior Fellow Dr...

31 Loka 202418min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
the-ulkopolitist
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
radio-antro
rss-kiina-ilmiot
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-vain-talouselamaa
rikosmyytit
rss-kovin-paikka