The article explores how Canadian courts view common property rights, focusing on a recent case in Toronto. Instead of seeing governments as trustees of common property for public good, the courts lean towards treating the government as the owner. This shift in understanding began in the early 1990s and has become more common in recent Supreme Court decisions. However, this "government-as-owner" idea can cause problems by prioritizing government rights over public benefits from common property. The article argues that a return to seeing the government as a trustee of common property is needed to ensure public interests are safeguarded.