Why Treaties Are the Best Fix for BC’s Land Uncertainty – The Tyee

Recent court rulings show the province can no longer ignore legal injustices, a former provincial cabinet minister says.

While court decisions may set the table, negotiations and handshakes will be needed to finally resolve century-old questions surrounding land title in British Columbia, says former B.C. cabinet minister and current treaty commissioner George Abbott.

Last year’s Cowichan decision, in which a B.C. judge declared some Richmond fee simple property titles invalid, has shaken some property owners. But the ruling isn’t the end. Instead, it sets the ground rules for the negotiations that will hash out its actual impacts on the ground, Abbott says.