Doug Ford apologizes for ‘hat in hand' comment on First Nations
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Ex-councillor says B.C. should negotiate treaties to protect farmland after land claim ruling
Former Richmond, B.C., city councillor Harold Steves' family has been farming in the area since 1877, lending their name to the community of Steveston. The 88-year-old former politician only retired from council three years ago, and few can match his knowledge of the controversies surrounding Richmond's farmland – the creation of the province's agricultural land reserve, influxes of foreign-money investors, a spate of mega-mansion construction and now the Cowichan Nation's Aboriginal title claim. 'It's just one battle after another for 50 years,' laughed Steves, who still runs the family farm in Steveston, raising belted Galloway beef cattle. He said he was surprised by the ruling last week that confirmed the Cowichan claim over a swath of land on the shores of the Fraser River, encompassing holdings by the Crown, the City of Richmond, as well privately owned farms and mansions. 'We didn't expect the court case to come in and say, 'This land is yours.' We expected treaty negotiations,' said Steves. B.C. to appeal court ruling that recognized Aboriginal title to land south of Vancouver The ruling in the B.C. Supreme Court confirms Aboriginal title and fishing rights are held by the Cowichan tribes over the land next to the south arm of the Fraser, where the nation had a summer village and members fished for salmon. The ruling declares the Crown and city titles to be 'defective and invalid,' and while the same designation was not sought by the Cowichan for private titles, the ruling says that granting them had been an unjustifiable infringement on the Cowichan's Aboriginal title. B.C.'s government had a duty to negotiate the reconciliation of private ownership with the Cowichan's Aboriginal title, the ruling says. The result has prompted concerns from the B.C. government and others about the implications for private property rights, with the province pledging to appeal. But Steves is worried about the implications for precious agricultural land. He said he agreed that the ruling should be appealed, but the province should 'sit down with Cowichan and say: 'OK, we agree this is your territory. Let's negotiate a treaty.'' Steves said that if farmland hadn't been included in the title claim, 'then yes, it should be between the federal government and the Cowichan First Nation.' 'But this court decision should not include farmland at all because it puts into jeopardy all the farmland in British Columbia.' Steves' grandfather started farming on Lulu Island, which now makes up the city of Richmond, in 1877 and founded the province's first seed company. Steves, who served one term as a provincial legislator for the NDP as well as more than 50 years as a Richmond councillor, was one of the founders of the province's agricultural land reserve, a zoning designation introduced in 1973 that protects farmland from redevelopment. He has spent years advocating for its preservation and maintaining its integrity from incursions that have included the construction of massive mansions, some more than 20,000 square feet, on land for farming purposes. Steves said the Cowichan ruling brought back memories from 20 years ago when he was part of the Tsawwassen First Nation treaty negotiations. 'And on the table, we were negotiating farmland, and we actually predicted back then what's happening right now. It's scary to think about it, but that was our worry,' said Steves. He said that under those treaty negotiations, the federal government purchased hundreds of hectares of agricultural land to form part of the Tsawwassen lands. He said that at the time, there were concerns that this would 'set a precedent, because now land speculators will be buying land next to Indian reserves, or places where they think that they'll get land out of the agricultural land reserve.' 'And lo and behold, along comes this (Cowichan) development,' Steves said. A lot of the private land in the Cowichan claim area was owned by 'speculators,' he said, who were also hoping to be bought out. Steves said that without treaty negotiations with First Nations, farmland could be at risk. 'I hope we will weather this one (battle), and we'll get down to negotiating proper treaties,' said Steves.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Officials give update on N.L. wildfires
Premier John Hogan and other officials talk to reporters about the latest in the province's ongoing fight against raging wildfires.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Ottawa to probe unpaid airline work allegations key to Air Canada strike
Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is seen at a press conference where she announced that she directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants to resume operations and resolve the dispute through binding arbitration, in Ottawa, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kyle Duggan OTTAWA -- Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu says the federal government is launching a probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector as a work stoppage at Air Canada stretches on. One of the key complaints from the union representing Air Canada flight attendants is that workers are not paid for duties performed when planes are not in the air. Hajdu said in an interview with The Canadian Press that she finds those claims 'deeply disturbing.' She said she has asked the federal labour department if there have been any complaints from the sector about unpaid work, but to her knowledge, there have been none. The investigation itself will not put an end to labour unrest at Air Canada -- it will take 'a number of weeks' for Hajdu's department to interview employers and unions to get the full scope of collective agreements in the Canadian airline sector, she said. If the probe determines those allegations are well-founded, Hajdu said she is prepared to introduce legislation that would close any such loopholes. 'I hope that it's going to give Canadians confidence that if we find instances where work is unpaid, that there will be a remedy, legally or otherwise,' she said. The minister's announcement comes two days after she asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose binding arbitration on Air Canada and the flight attendants' union. The flight attendants' union defied that order and remains on the picket line, leaving Air Canada flights grounded for a third day even after the industrial relations board ruled Monday that the strike is unlawful. Hajdu said the CIRB is 'seized with this issue' and that the process could be taken to Federal Court. Labour leaders have cried foul on the federal government's repeated use of Section 107 of the Labour Code to cut off workers' right to strike and force them into arbitration, as the government has already done in recent years with workers at ports, railways and elsewhere. Asked whether the federal government made a mistake attempting to impose binding arbitration hours into the flight attendants' strike on Saturday, Hajdu said it was a 'very difficult choice.' But she said the parties were at loggerheads with an economic toll looming as flight cancellations began. 'It was a decision made primarily because both parties said that they were at an impasse and that the dispute was intractable, that they could not find a path forward,' she said. The federal Liberal government is not, however, considering recalling Parliament early to impose back-to-work legislation, Hajdu said. 'This dispute is now in the hands primarily of the two parties, to be honest,' she said. The minister called on the parties to come together to get Canadians on their way and put an end to the 'economic shock.' She said both Air Canada and the union will have to adjust their expectations to reach an agreement. 'Everybody has to put a little water in their wine in collective agreements and bargaining. Nobody gets exactly what they want,' Hajdu said. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed the two parties couldn't reach an agreement at the table. 'It was the judgment of both the union and the company that they were at an impasse. That's not my judgment, it's their judgment,' Carney said ahead of a meeting with Premier Doug Ford in Ottawa. Carney said that Ottawa recognizes the 'critical role that flight attendants play in keeping Canadians and their families safe as they travel,' adding it's 'important that they're compensated equitably at all times.' Ford told reporters after the meeting that everyone deserves a fair wage and that the final deal has to be in the best interest of the workers, the company and Canadians. Asked about the union's decision to initially defy the back-to-work order, Ford said it was up to the federal government to 'make sure they sit down at the table.' 'That always happens when you have labour issues, but they'll work it out. It's happened before, and they'll get things moving,' he said. By Craig Lord With files from Ian Bickis in Toronto This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
