The True Threat to Private Property? Ignoring Indigenous Title – The Tyee

The Cowichan decision isn’t an ‘unintended consequence.’ It’s the predictable result of generations of political inaction.

The B.C. Supreme Court’s decision in Cowichan Tribes v. Canada has been felt across the province, affirming that Cowichan Nation holds title to Tl’uqtinus, a village site on the south arm of the Fraser River.

The ruling found that “Crown grants of fee simple interest deprived the Cowichan of their village lands, severely impeded their ability to fish the south arm of the Fraser River and are an unjustified infringement of their Aboriginal title.” Crucially, “the Province has no jurisdiction to extinguish Aboriginal title…. Aboriginal title lies beyond the land title system in British Columbia.”

Read More: https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/18/True-Threat-Private-Property-Ignoring-Indigenous-Title/