‘This isn’t reconciliation, it’s ridiculous’: Richmond city councillor says homeowners in limbo over land title

A Richmond city councillor says the municipality is fighting for families and businesses affected by a landmark ruling on land title along a section the Fraser River.

“We are fighting hard for fee-simple land,” said Alexa Loo, adding Richmond is among the groups appealing the B.C. Supreme Court decision in August granting right to seven-and-half square kilometres of land in the city land to the Cowichan Tribes.

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Over the weekend, the municipality hand-delivered close to 150 letters to affected owners, saying Richmond will “make legal arguments that Aboriginal title and fee simple title cannot co-exist over the same lands.”

Loo says she’s heard from a number of home and business owners stuck in limbo until the Cowichan decision is settled.

“There are some companies, that were planning to do some building on their property, and their bank has pulled their funding because the title of the land is unclear. It’s hard to do business if you can’t secure a mortgage on your space.”

Loo adds she’s also spoken to a family trying to sell their deceased mother’s property.

“The mother passed away and the estate is trying to sell, but no one is able to buy it because they can’t get a mortgage on the property,” she told 1130 NewsRadio.

“It’s affecting real people in real time.”

Loo says the uncertainty has also stalled a plan to build a road to better service Richmond’s port lands.

“Partnering with any other group like TransLink to put in this road is not going to happen until it’s clear who owns the land. Now we are not going to be able to have proper transit for workers in the port lands for another seven to 10 years, until this all gets cleaned up.”

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie calls the Cowichan decision “one of the most consequential rulings of any court” in Canadian history. Loo also believes it could have far-reaching consequences.

“Richmond is not the only place where Indigenous people are claiming title to land. There’s a great portion of B.C. that will be affected by this if further court actions happen.”

Province and Musqueam First Nations plan to appeal

While the First Nation had not sought to have the titles of privately-held properties declared invalid, the court said the Crown’s granting of private property ownership rights unjustifiably infringe on Cowichan Aboriginal title and needs to be resolved through negotiation, litigation or purchase. Otherwise the properties would remain under Cowichan title lands.

“Everyone wants reconciliation,” said Loo. “But this isn’t reconciliation, this is ridiculous. It’s creating uncertainty, it’s unduly unfair to individual property owners — families who happen to fall in this circle,” she argued.

“The stress that the uncertainty is causing to people, to families, to businesses is a lot. People who’ve put their heart and soul into their farms or their business, these are real people being affected.”

The province and the Musqueam First Nations have also announced appeals of the decision.

Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad sent a letter Sunday to Premier David Eby demanding the case immediately be referenced to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“The question is straightforward,” Rustad wrote. “Can Aboriginal title and private property coexist over the same land, and if so, what are the legal consequences for each?”

B.C. Premier Eby criticizes court

Eby says the B.C. Supreme Court decision is threatening the way how to conduct basic business.

He assures that the province defends the private property rights of the affected homeowners.

“Clarity and resolution is urgently needed and yes, and the appeal of course, we are arguing to defend those private property rights of those homeowners and for certainty to ensure that businesses can make the decisions, to invest, that they need to make,” Eby said.

“It’s crucial for our economy, for the basic economics of family, that people understand their private property rights. That’s the basis of how things work in the province.”

He also criticized that the court did not provide any notice to the affected homeowners ahead of time.

“The anxiety among people who are affected by this decision is totally reasonable. That’s why our lawyers were in court saying ‘court, you need to provide notice to these property owners so they can participate in the hearing.’ Unfortunately, the court decided not to provide that notice,” he added.

Until the Supreme Court answers that question, government must “immediately pause all negotiations” with First Nations, Rustad added.

Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie says a meeting next week with homeowners will give affected property owners a chance to learn more about the case and ask questions.

Cowichan Tribes has not responded to inquiries from 1130 NewsRadio about its next moves.

In an Aug. 8 release, the First Nation said it was continuing to meet and review the judgment with legal counsel.

—With files from The Canadian Press, and Dean Recksiedler