The public trust doctrine : ensuring the public's natural right of (perpetual) access to common resources
Date
2010-03-10T21:27:42Z
Authors
Park, Matthew Aragorn
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Abstract
In the 2004 Supreme Court of Canada case of British Columbia v. Canadian Forest Products Ltd. Justice Binnie spoke of "public rights in the environment that reside in the Crown." He then canvassed the public trust doctrine, a well developed concept in the United States, even though none of the parties argued as such. I argue that this signals a shift in Canada towards recognizing the public's right of access to common resources. A new reading of John Locke's natural law theories provides the theoretical basis for limiting property rights, for the common good. I argue the public trust doctrine, a forgotten aspect of the common law, is a fiduciary duty that the state to maintain the right of perpetual access to common resources. Understanding its historical foundations the public trust doctrine has the potential, if articulated from an ecological perspective, to provide for state supervised sustainability for future generations.
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Keywords
natural resources, legislation