Milne v. Canada, 2026 FCA 148 (CanLII)

Property — Expropriation — Compensation assessment — Expropriation Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-21 governs the amount of compensation — Railway line constructed on Appellant’s land, four-meter strip expropriated — Noise increase described, mitigation recommended under the Health Canada Guidelines — Compensation limits affirmed — Appeal dismissed without costsProperty — Expropriation — Injurious affection — Compensation for adverse effects limited to economic loss — Whether compensation turns on decrease in market value of remaining lands — No evidence of loss in value attributable to roughly five decibel increase in noise — Act provides narrower relief than tort damages — Claim rejected — Appeal dismissed without costsProperty — Expropriation — Disturbance damages — Whether Appellant entitled to disturbance damages sought — Betterment precludes claimed disturbance damages — Act purpose not to cure deficiencies in prior mitigation efforts or enforce compliance with federal guidelines — Losses must arise from the particular taking in issue — Disturbance damages denied — Appeal dismissed without costsProcedure — Appeal — Scope of remittal and pleadings — Whether earlier judgment confined redetermination to monetary award and costs — R. v. Sullivan, 2022 SCC 19 and Miller v. Canada (Attorney General), 2002 FCA 370 applied — Unpleaded matters, including Expropriation Act s. 36 interest and inflationary adjustments, excluded — Limits enforced — Appeal dismissed without costsProcedure — Appeal — Standard of review — Housen v. Nikolaisen, 2002 SCC 33 applied, correctness for pure law and palpable and overriding error for factually suffused findings — Whether Federal Court erred in law on remitted issue — Invitation to reweigh expert evidence rejected — Reasons intelligible and legally sufficient — Appeal dismissed without costs