Date Announced

October 21, 2022

Lead Office

Toronto

On October 21, 2022, The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released a landmark decision in Annapolis Group Inc. v Halifax Regional Municipality, 2022 SCC 36. The SCC clarified the test for claimants to establish de facto expropriation of private property through a public authority’s exercise of regulatory powers. The decision establishes that when assessing whether a public authority has acquired a “beneficial interest” in a property for the purposes of establishing a constructive taking, there is no requirement for the public authority to actually acquire a proprietary interest in the land. Rather, the fact that an “advantage” has flowed to the state from its regulation of the property will suffice to meet this element of the constructive taking test. Further, the public authority’s intention will play a role in the broader constructive taking analysis

The Ontario Landowners Association is an organization which seeks to protect property rights in Ontario, Canada.

McCarthy Tétrault represented the Ontario Landowners Association, as Intervener, with a team led by Brandon Kain that includes Adriana Forest (Litigation).