{"id":130698,"date":"2025-08-09T03:15:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T03:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/130698\/"},"modified":"2025-08-09T03:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T03:15:18","slug":"canadas-longest-trial-ends-in-precedent-setting-b-c-land-claim-ruling-for-4-first-nations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/130698\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s longest trial ends in precedent-setting B.C. land claim ruling for 4 First Nations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The B.C. Supreme Court has delivered a precedent-setting ruling on a land claim brought forward by four First Nations after a multi-year court battle.<\/p>\n

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The piece of land in question is a 750-hectare parcel in Richmond, including city and port lands, farms, golf courses and commercial properties.<\/p>\n

The Quw\u2019utsun Nation, Cowichan Tribes, along with the Stz\u2019uminus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Halalt First Nation and all other descendants of the Cowichan Nation, launched legal action in 2019 to recover their government-held lands near the mouth of the Fraser River \u2013 known as the traditional village of Tl\u2019uqtinus.<\/p>\n

They also sought a declaration of an Aboriginal right to fish the south arm of the Fraser River for food.<\/p>\n

Today, land in the claim area is owned by the federal Crown, the B.C. government, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City of Richmond and private third parties.<\/p>\n

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The defendants in the case were not only the federal government, the B.C. government and the port authority but also the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Musqueam Indian Band.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first case that we\u2019ve really seen First Nations pitted against each other, in an Aboriginal title trial,\u201d Aaron Wilson, a member of the Musqueam Nation and an associate at Mandel Pinder LLP, which represented the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about years of work, millions of dollars in legal fees.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When the Europeans made contact in the early 1790s, the\u00a0 Cowichan (Quw\u2019utsun mustimuhw) were an Indigenous people, established of 11 local groups.<\/p>\n

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Every summer, the Cowichan travelled to their Lands of Tl\u2019uqtinus, in what is now modern-day Richmond, to fish and harvest resources.<\/p>\n

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Hudson\u2019s Bay Company officials first sighted the village in 1824, however, the Cowichan Nation states that during colonial reserve creation, beginning 1859, Col. Richard Moody, the Chief Commissioner of Lands for the Colony of British Columbia, did not finalize the village and surrounding lands as a Cowichan Indian reserve and took part of the land for himself.<\/p>\n

The Cowichan Nation said it was not seeking to recover any privately-held lands in the court case but they wanted lands held by government returned to them.<\/p>\n

The ruling by Justice Barbara Young directs the Crown to decide how to settle ownership where current legal titles overlap with Cowichan\u2019s newly-recognized title.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, it\u2019s the province and federal governments that will have to deal with this,\u201d lawyer Peter Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal Crown may have to transfer some of the land back, they may have to compensate them for the financial benefits that they\u2019ve got from those lands.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, B.C.\u2019s Attorney General Niki Sharma said the province is reviewing the court ruling to determine any next steps as it \u201cconsiders an appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n

B.C. Premier David Eby said in a statement, \u201cLet me be clear: owning private property with clear title is key to borrowing for a mortgage, economic certainty, and the real estate market.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe remain committed to protecting and upholding this foundation of business and personal predictability, and our provincial economy, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAgreement reached with five of Treaty 8 First Nations\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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