Natural Resources and Public Property Under the Canadian Constitution

The controversy aroused by the Supreme Court's decision on offshore mineral rights emphsizes the importance of the public domain in the workings of the Canadian constitution. Public property is important to the provinces not only for its revenues, but also because it provides them with a powerful instrument for control of their economic and political destinies and strengthens their position in relation to federal authorities.
The provisions of the British North America Act and other constit...