The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that long corridor projects, such as pipelines, typically require consultation with dozens of first nations, where historically unanimity has been difficult to achieve. The Globe's guest columnist Tom Flanagan writes that holdouts may block projects for strategic reasons, hoping for a better deal, or because they are opposed in principle. In the larger economy, this problem is solved by the exercise of expropriation. Acting under legislation that provides appropriate compensation, regulatory authorities can take possession of land required for essential corridor projects. Expropriation is not a perfect solution, but without it, we would not have many pipelines, power lines, roads or rapid-transit lines. The problem is that we have no equivalent legislation for first nations' property rights. Thus, even though the courts repeat that the right to be consulted does not entail a veto, the legal process as it has evolved effectively confers a veto power on small numbers of holdout first nations. Ironically, that veto power damages not only the Canadian economy but many first nations. The courts have boxed themselves in, and only Parliament can break the gridlock.