A friend was explaining what he knew to be factual information about an option the canadian government gives any citizen, whereby if they don’t own any land, they can ask the government for a 1 acre plot (no idea where these are, but supposedly there are lots) which they can then farm and live off. I think its a non-commercial proposition, in that one is only allowed to use the land for their own sustanaince.
Nonsense? Truth? or somewhere in between.
I’m not sure, but here in the States homesteading may fufill a similar function. That’s the best I have to offer. Sorry!
One acre is not enough to try making a living on.
From what I understand, the one acre is not to be used to earn a living. But you can have sizeable vegetable gardens. When the veggies (or melons, etc.) are in season, they can be canned and stored to last through the winter.
This sounds like a historical pipe dream that may have been in effect way before I was born in order to get people working in the great plains. Given the current treaty talks with our First Nations population, I’m rather skeptical that the government is handing over land free to any citizen who asks.
You may want to check the government of Canada’s official website www.canada.gc.ca
If you think for one instant that the government of Canada would give its citizens land so that they can effectively avoid paying income taxes, you’re crazy.
In the U.S. it’s quite difficult to “opt out.” At the very least you have to pay property taxes, which gives the government an “in” to some of your personal information. But it’s not impossible. Here’s a book which purports to tell you how to live “hidden, happy, and free”:
The only thing I can think of that you might be refering to is the Dominion Lands Act (the first one was passed in the 1870s, I think), where any family or man at least 21 years of age could receive a grant of up to 160 acres of unoccupied public land if he farmed it for at least 3 years. The goal was to encourage white settlement of the west.