(Photo by Sora Shimazaki /pexels.com)
A B.C. court has granted title land rights to a First Nations group that includes parts of the Lower Mainland and the Fraser River, following a long court battle.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young issued the written decision on Aug. 7, calling land title grants issued by the federal and provincial governments to others “defective and invalid.”
The lawsuit was originally filed by the Cowichan Tribes in 2019. The claims were opposed by the Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations, the federal and provincial governments, the City of Richmond, and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in a case that included a 513-day trial.
Young also said the government title grants “unjustifiably infringe the Cowichan Nation Aboriginal title to these lands.”
The land includes parts of the City of Richmond, as well as federal Crown land, and areas that belong to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and private third parties, Young said in the court decision.
The area in question was used by the Cowichan Nation’s ancestors during the summer as a “permanent post and beam village,” according to the court decision. However, it was never officially established as a reserve and B.C. started to give away the land around 1871.
Young wrote that both levels of government need to negotiate with the Cowichan Nation in good faith to reconcile its land title and those currently on the land, including the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project.
The Cowichan Tribes said it celebrated the “historic victory.”
A statement issued by the First Nation said its members honoured those in the community who had brought the issue up “ever since the Crown began its unauthorized alienation of our lands there in the 1870s.”
Politicians’ Reactions
B.C. Premier David Eby said the province was reviewing the decision for a possible appeal. He said it would seek to resolve the issue by negotiating with all nations involved.
“But let me be clear: owning private property with clear title is key to borrowing for a mortgage, economic certainty, and the real estate market,” Eby says.
“We remain committed to protecting and upholding this foundation of business and personal predictability, and our provincial economy, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.”
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said the decision needed to be “appealed and overturned.”
“Private property rights are the foundation of our democracy and our country,” Rustad said in an Aug. 8 post on X.
He said that losing private property rights undermines the rights that “underpin our country.”
“Reconciliation cannot be achieved by taking rights away from one group and giving them to another,” Rustad said.
The Musqueam Indian Band, who argued it had rights to the Fraser River, said it was “deeply offended” and “disheartened” by the court’s decision. It said it will review the court decision and consider next steps.
The Band has previously declared it holds Aboriginal title over the north and south arms of the river.
The Vancouver Port Authority said it was “carefully reviewing” the court decision, spokesperson Alex Munro told The Epoch Times in an email.
Munro said they were considering the implications of the ruling “alongside other affected federal government departments.”
Justice Young concluded in her decision that the “Cowichan had the capacity and intention to exclusively control their village land” since 1846, and that there was “no evidence of other Indigenous groups occupying this village.”
The justice noted the decision will “change a long‑established status quo and have significant impacts for Richmond and third‑party lessees on the lands that Canada owns.”
Young said she hoped that the parties had the answers needed for negotiations to “reconcile the outstanding issues.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this article.