Over the past 2 days, we have discussed how the Magna Carta is refurbished in some current legislation relating to personal property and real estate. Today, in our 2 part series, we will be discussing the property that exists beneath land – namely, mines and minerals – and how the rights to those materials are derived from a constitution signed 800 years ago.
The Magna Carta prevented the King or his officials from taking precious substances from an individual’s land, without the consent of the owner. While that particular paragraph refers to wood, at that time wood was used for heat, cooking, building, and even clothing making it a valuable commodity. Today, each individual province regulates the legislation of minerals within their boundaries.
Although not the first thing on people’s minds when purchasing a property, the right to substances (such as oil and gas) may have an effect on the purchase. In Alberta, substances underground may be owned privately by individuals, by companies with historical presence (Hudson’s Bay and Canadian Pacific Railway), by the provincial government, or by the federal government; and the owner of the mineral rights may not necessarily be the same owner of the surface land. The multiplicity of mineral title ownership is a result of historical grants between the Crown, HBC and CPR, and early settlers.
Check back this afternoon for Part II, where we will outline some everyday examples of the relationships between surface owners, mineral owners, and governing legislation.
