CBCnews
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share

Harper, Martin spar over property rights

Last Updated: Thursday, January 12, 2006 | 11:43 AM ET

CBC News
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is brushing off Liberal arguments that his call for charter-protected property rights would open the door to striking down laws that protect workers, children, unions and the environment.

Harper said during a leaders debate on Monday that he would like to see the Charter of Rights and Freedoms include property rights.

On Thursday, he said, "It's not a high priority."

But the Liberals are trying to use it as an example of how closely aligned the Tory leader is with the conservative movement in the United States.

Liberal Leader Paul Martin said property rights is the "shrine at which the U.S. conservative movement bows."

He said enshrining those rights in the Constitution would allow the government to attack a range of laws.

"If property rights were enshrined in the Constitution then probably you would not be able to ban handguns," Martin said.

Harper said he has no desire to strike down those kinds of laws.

"We believe the Charter of Rights should reflect the right to own property, the right not to be deprived of property without due process of law and just and timely compensation."

  • This story is now closed to commenting.
Story Tools: EMAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK | Bookmark and Share
 

Canada Headlines

new 2nd suspect in Tim Bosma case in court today on murder charge video
A second man arrested in the death of Tim Bosma, a Hamilton father who disappeared after taking two men on a test drive, is due in court today to face a charge of first-degree murder.
new Court freezes assets in widening SNC-Lavalin probe
The RCMP are moving to freeze millions of dollars in bank accounts and real estate holdings in Montreal and Florida in their expanding probe into Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.
new Needed: New approaches to defuse 'suicide contagion' among teens
Mental health experts say we need to find new ways to refer to and discuss suicide, particularly now that a large medical study has confirmed that teens are more susceptible to the idea if they know a schoolmate who died that way.
analysis Neil Macdonald: Harper no Obama when it comes to dealing with scandals
Beset by three so-called scandals at the moment, Barack Obama has been meeting his accusers and the press head on, Neil Macdonald writes. The same cannot be said for how Stephen Harper operates.
new Guilty pleas expected today in Nova Scotia chained-teen case
A man accused of chaining up a teen and sexually assaulting him last fall is expected to enter guilty pleas in a Bridgewater, N.S., courtroom this morning.

Top CBCNews.ca Headlines

Headlines

Mike Duffy's primary home not P.E.I., unedited Senate report says video
A copy of the original report by an internal Senate committee on Senator Mike Duffy's expense claims, obtained by CBC News, makes it clear the committee believes Duffy's primary residence is in Ottawa, and not in P.E.I.
analysis Neil Macdonald: Harper no Obama when it comes to dealing with scandals
Beset by three so-called scandals at the moment, Barack Obama has been meeting his accusers and the press head on, Neil Macdonald writes. The same cannot be said for how Stephen Harper operates.
new Court freezes assets in widening SNC-Lavalin probe
The RCMP are moving to freeze millions of dollars in bank accounts and real estate holdings in Montreal and Florida in their expanding probe into Canadian engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.
new Needed: New approaches to defuse 'suicide contagion' among teens
Mental health experts say we need to find new ways to refer to and discuss suicide, particularly now that a large medical study has confirmed that teens are more susceptible to the idea if they know a schoolmate who died that way.
new 2nd suspect in Tim Bosma case in court today on murder charge video
A second man arrested in the death of Tim Bosma, a Hamilton father who disappeared after taking two men on a test drive, is due in court today to face a charge of first-degree murder.

Features

The week in pictures
PHOTO GALLERYThe week in pictures
Images in the news