What is the common law view on compulsory "taking" by the federal government?

The argument relied upon the presumption that a statute will not be construed as permitting a government to take away property without compensation unless clear words are used. In particular it cited Manitoba Fisheries v. R. 1978 CanLII 22 (SCC), [1979] 1 S.C.R. 101. If the common law had nothing more specific to say upon the subject of paying agents it would be necessary to consider whether or not that "taking" principle applies here. But in our view, it is not appropriate to go that far afield. Quite apart from s. 103 of the Constitution Act, 1867, the common law has much more specific rules, described below, which are directly applicable to the situation at hand. Since they are directly on point, they exclude application of the much more general and less direct rule about taking without compensation. Alberta cited a number of cases on compulsory "taking" by governments, but none of these cases involve agency, or similar services, or even any close analogy to them.