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National Post

B.C. to appeal landmark Aboriginal title ruling over land in Metro Vancouver

VANCOUVER — On Monday, members of the Cowichan Nation praised elders and those who have gone before them as they celebrated victory in a years-long legal fight to reclaim land on the Fraser River used by their ancestors as a summer home in what is now the Metro Vancouver municipality of Richmond, B.C. Article content The trial had lasted 513 days, resulting in a ruling last week that is almost 280,000 words long. Article content Article content Article content Justice Barbara Young ruled that the Crown's grants of private property ownership rights over the lands 'unjustifiably infringe' on Cowichan Aboriginal title, and need to be negotiated, while titles and interests in the lands held by Canada and Richmond were 'defective and invalid.' Article content Article content But it soon became clear the conflict is not over, when B.C.'s Attorney General Niki Sharma promised to appeal the landmark decision that she said could have 'significant unintended consequences' over private property rights in the province. Article content Sharma said the government preferred resolving land claim issues through reconciliation rather than risking 'considerable uncertainty' through the courts. Article content 'Our government is committed to protecting and upholding private property rights while advancing the very important and critical work of reconciliation here in this province,' Sharma said. Article content Article content The nation had not sought to have the titles of privately held properties declared 'defective and invalid.' Article content Article content However, the ruling said B.C. owes a duty to the Cowichan 'to negotiate in good faith reconciliation of the Crown-granted fee simple interests held by third parties.' Article content The land at the heart of the case is on the south shore of Lulu Island in Richmond, which the Cowichan ancestors used as a summer home and fishing village. Article content While the nation's people had winter villages on Vancouver Island and other islands, the ruling says that every summer they would travel 'en masse' to a 'permanent post and beam village' on the Fraser River territory where they fished for salmon. Article content Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels had told the news conference on Monday that Friday's decision goes toward the nation's goals to recover and restore the village and surrounding lands, re-establish a permanent residence and river access and re-establish cultural practices. Article content Daniels said the nation initially tried to get an agreement through the treaty process but there was 'no openness' to discuss the land, and so they went to court.