Expropriation Act

Expropriation Act

RSNS 1989, c 156

3(1)(c) “expropriate” means the taking of land without the consent of the owner by an expropriating authority in the exercise of its statutory powers;

[…]

24 Where land is expropriated, the statutory authority shall pay the owner compensation as is determined in accordance with this Act.

The McLaren v Caldwell saga took place before the advent of modern expropriation acts like this on in Nova Scotia. In the absence of a statute requiring compensation for expropriation, how did the parties and the courts' in the McLaren case address this issue?

Mariner Real Estate Ltd v Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 1999 NSCA 98 (CanLII)

The Mariner case was the first contemporary appeals court decision that attempted to interpret Nova Scotia's Expropriation Act in a case of de facto expropriation. In doing so, the Court establishes a framework for analysis. What is the legal "test" for de facto expropriation that emerges from the case and how does this motivated by the modern style?