The Cowichan Nation Alliance has laid claim to a tract on the south side of Richmond, B.C., along the Fraser River opposite Tilbury Island, which includes an estimated 200 privately held properties that have yet to be identified. The case, which was launched in 2014, is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Sept. 9.
But, until all matters are resolved, the claims raise questions about whether the non-Indigenous property owners would pay taxes to the First Nations, whether the property owners would be allowed to vote in band elections, whether the property values would be impacted and whether they or future owners could secure mortgages.
In deciding that the Cowichan do not need to provide notice to the landowners, Justice Power said there is nothing to prevent the federal or provincial governments or the City of Richmond from doing so. But no public officials have taken that step. Thomas Isaac, a Vancouver lawyer who is an expert on Indigenous law, says if he were one of the landowners, he would “absolutely” want to know that his property was subject to a land claim.“This could be a very positive discussion around reconciliation in our great province,” he said. “But it’s about clarity and transparency.”
globepolitics Might as well be South Africa these days in Canada.
globepolitics First of all the land does belong to the first Nations people. They can't give away something that doesn't belong to them