Duquesne Law Review
Abstract
Canada is a country with vast unsettled regions and many untapped resources. In the past, as resources were exploited and industry developed in areas which had previously been open country, town building and settlement were left primarily to the industrial developer. The result was the development of what are often called "company towns," or "single-enterprise communities." Little part was played in the creation of these towns by real estate promoters, professional town planners, or governmental bodies. They were not built for philanthropic or idealistic purposes but were considered as "necessary evils." Although towns built in this manner have generally been neat and orderly in appearance and have provided company employees with housing and other community facilities, they have also created problems. Perhaps the greatest problem raised by these towns is "company paternalism." Employees resent having to live in a company house, shop in a company store, send their children to company-provided schools, relax in a company theater or company bowling alley, and worship in a company-built church. They lose initiative and rely upon the company's management. Nevertheless, until recently, industry offered the only solution to the problem of creating integrated communities within the span of a few months in unsettled areas.
First Page
377
Recommended Citation
John R. McFarland,
The Administration of the Alberta New Towns Program,
5
Duq. L. Rev.
377
(1966).
Available at:
https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol5/iss3/5