Chelsea and the two associations share the common and firmly held belief that there is no need for special legislation which restricts the resale of our residents' homes and properties. Any restriction on resale, such as the right of first refusal, is unnecessary and unfair: unnecessary in that the federal government already has the general power of expropriation which it has used over the years to acquire large tracks of land which could be commercialized; and, unfair in that it would artificially reduce property values, which essentially amounts to expropriation without compensation. We support an open real estate market and note that there is no impediment to the NCC bidding on properties which become available on the market.
We feel that the objectives of the NCC can be met either by accessing the open resale market or, in special circumstances, using the federal government's power of expropriation. The latter comes with appropriate checks and balances to ensure due and fair process accompanied by the requirement for ordinary public policy rationale underlying any expropriation of private homes.
Millions of Canadians from coast to coast enjoy the social and economic benefits of private home ownership. The majority of these Canadians count their home as their primary family asset. Private homes have been established at Kingsmere and Meech Lakes since the 1800s. We are also in general agreement with the NCC's most recent position on private properties and residential uses. Integral to this support is our assumption that none of the NCC's objectives will be interpreted in a way that would cause a change in the reasonable use and enjoyment of our homes and properties and that if there were such changes it would be because they would generally be applicable to other Canadians at or about the same time.