We do not yet know how the rights of nature will look or be enshrined in Canadian law. As a result, it is difficult to make accurate predictions about how the rights of nature will be balanced with other, pre-existing, rights and regulations. Still, we do know that it is likely that the more value or weight we give to the rights of nature, the more likely we are to prioritize the rights of nature when they come into tension with other rights.

Moreover, current methods of balancing constitutional rights and dealing with conflicts of law are instructive. Lawmakers and the courts will likely draw on tried and true techniques for balancing or prioritising rights and/or legislation with each other, such as “reconciling” rights, using a paramountcy clause, and compensating individuals or corporations when their own rights are subsumed to the rights of nature.