Dwight Newman: Aboriginal title’s conflict with private property must be resolved – National Post
Aug 24, 2025
The B.C. Supreme Court’s Cowichan Tribes judgment has cast a shadow of doubt over land ownership. There are ways to get clarity, though
The ruling by the British Columbia Supreme Court in the Cowichan Tribes case earlier this month highlights just how many legal rules on constitutionally protected Aboriginal title remain unresolved and how much of a problem those legal gaps create.
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One of the issues getting the most media play, that of the interaction between Aboriginal title claims and privately owned lands, is one where the judgment seems to have implications but doesn’t quite come out and say anything clear — a complex conclusion I’ve been discussing in my Law for Breakfast Substack. The judgment says that Aboriginal title takes priority over fee simple (the form of landholding of private landowners) but that it’s not going to make a specific declaration about any privately owned land. If you’re confused, join the club.
