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National Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Terry Glavin: A better response to B.C.'s Cowichan land ruling — calm down!
Article content It is customary for British Columbians to set their hair on fire whenever the courts remind them that they've been losing that bet as far back as the Calder case of 1973. This latest case involves a Cowichan fishing village on the Fraser River that Colonial Governor James Douglas had set aside from pre-emption that was swindled from the tribe only two years after Confederation by Richard Clement Moody, the former colonial commissioner of lands and works. Article content Not satisfied with deliberately overlooking the presence of a village that was home to as many as 1,000 Cowichan people during the fishing season, and then selling it off illegally in the province's first rounds of land pre-emptions, Moody sold a big chunk of the old village site to himself via the connivings of a land agent. Article content Moody had no legal right to buy the village lands, it should go without saying — he ended up selling roughly 2,000 acres to himself in 11 different pre-emptions on British Columbia's mainland — but the point is he had no right to sell the Cowichan land, either. The whole thing was illegal and unconstitutional. Article content While the federally-owned lands are no small matter — about 260 hectares are under the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority — it's the City of Richmond that's been shouting the loudest about Judge Young's declaration. Richmond owns several lots and the entirety of the foreshore along the Fraser River at the site, which the judge described as 'essentially undeveloped land that Richmond does not use.' Richmond acquired the land over the years mostly as 'windfall' from municipal tax sales. Judge Young said she agrees with Richmond's lawyers that a declaration of Aboriginal title creates a degree of uncertainty about the fee-simple private properties in the 2,000-hectare claim area. However, 'there is greater uncertainty if I do not declare that Richmond and Canada's fee simple titles and interests are defective and invalid.' Article content It's the Cowichan victory in its fishing-rights arguments that are likely of greater significance, and it was because of those assertions that the Cowichan claim was opposed by the Tsawwassen and Musqueam nations. As for the precedent the decision sets, it's in Judge Young's explicit finding that a provincial Crown grant of fee-simple title is not sufficient to extinguish Aboriginal title. That's a power available only to the federal government, and only according to a fairly severe test of justification in the interest of a valid public purpose. Article content Article content 'Neither Aboriginal title nor fee simple title is absolute,' the judge noted 'Aboriginal title and fee simple interests are not unqualified interests.' And they can coexist, or rather they already do coexist. The provincial Land Titles Act doesn't apply to Aboriginal title. It never did. Both Crown title and Aboriginal title can underlie private property without the world coming to an end. Article content But how all this will come out in the wash will depend largely on the sophistication and the stamina of the provincial and federal governments. And that's a matter that's very much worth worrying about. If the Cowichan decision is handled badly, we may all end up paying very dearly. Still, it doesn't have to be this way. Where the pattern of settlement and the advance of Crown sovereignty failed in Canada, it was in the breach of an Aboriginal rights doctrine that stretches back to 1763 and in the slovenliness of politicians who preferred the easy way. Article content
Daily Record
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Free event for kids celebrates Scottish history including legendary hero's jousting battle
The occasion lets all ages experience Scottish history in a fun, immersive way. Visitors to the Highlands will be transported back in time this month as a dramatic jousting re-enactment starring Robert the Bruce is set to take place at Fort George near Inverness. The historic showdown is part of 'Celebration of the Centuries', a two-day event hosted by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on Saturday, August 9 and Sunday, August 10. Held at one of the largest Georgian fortresses in Europe, the family-friendly weekend promises an immersive journey through more than 2,000 years of Scottish history. Among the highlights will be a staged clash between two towering figures of the nation's past: Robert the Bruce, the former king who led Scotland to independence in the early 1300s, and Sir James Douglas, his fiercely loyal ally during the Wars of Independence. Gillian Urquhart, events manager at HES, said: 'Celebration of the Centuries at Fort George is one of our most popular summer events, where families and people of all ages have the chance to engage with history in an immersive, exciting way. "From warriors and weavers to nobles and knights, it's a celebration of Scotland throughout the ages.' The jousting spectacle is just one part of the packed programme. Visitors can explore living history camps filled with characters from across the centuries, from Pictish warriors and Roman soldiers to medieval nobles and tradespeople. The fortress itself offers a fitting backdrop for the event. Constructed after the Jacobite rising of 1745 to help control the Highlands, Fort George has played a key role in Scotland's military history. Its current structure replaced an earlier fort that had been besieged during the rebellion. The site is also featured in HES's 'Historic Places, Breathing Spaces' campaign, which promotes the mental wellbeing benefits of spending time at heritage landmarks. Fort George site manager John Gibbon has developed a walking guide highlighting tranquil locations within the grounds. Celebration of the Centuries will run from 11am to 5pm on both days. All performances and activities are included in the standard admission price, which starts at £14 for adults, while children under seven can enter for free. The jousting tournament brings to life two of the most iconic figures in Scottish history. Robert the Bruce, born in 1274, was crowned King of Scots in 1306 and led the country to victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. His efforts culminated in the Treaty of Northampton in 1328, which formally recognised Scotland's independence. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sir James Douglas, known as the Black Douglas, was born around 1286 and became a feared figure among the English thanks to his daring raids and battlefield exploits. A staunch supporter of Bruce, he famously destroyed his own castle at Douglas in 1307 in what became known as the 'Douglas Larder'. Douglas commanded forces at Bannockburn and captured key strongholds such as Roxburgh Castle. Shortly before his death in 1329, Bruce asked Douglas to carry his heart to the Holy Land. Douglas set out in 1330 but was killed in battle against the Moors in Spain, still carrying the silver casket containing the king's heart.
Daily Record
07-07-2025
- General
- Daily Record
The little-known headless mummy that nobody wanted and now lies in a Scottish museum
Once known as 'Pharaoh's Daughter', the 3000-year-old male mummy took a bizarre path to a cupboard in Glasgow. In the depths of a storage room at Glasgow's Burrell Collection lie two ancient Egyptian mummies. Both are headless, one is in pristine wrappings, while the other has been reduced to a fragile skeleton. Few Glaswegians even know they exist, and fewer still know the tale of how one of them may be the most unwanted mummy in Scottish history. Known once as 'Pharaoh's Daughter', the 3000-year-old male corpse was never meant to end up in a dusty cupboard in Pollok Park. Its strange journey to Glasgow, however, reads more like a Sherlock Holmes story than a museum inventory. The saga begins in 1748, when James Douglas, a Scottish Earl with a fondness for the unusual, travelled to Egypt and acquired a mummified body. On returning home, he handed it over to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, a group of rather startled lawyers, for reasons that remain unclear, Glasgow Live reports. Whether it was a gift or a philosophical statement, the mummy was accepted and set up among the books in the library of Parliament House, home to Scotland's finest legal minds. There it sat for decades, an odd relic among marble busts and legal tomes. By 1884, the mummy was already fading into obscurity. Faculty Treasurer James Balfour Paul wrote that the curiosity "slumbers in a dark corner as calmly as if it were in the tombs at Memphis". But its afterlife was far from serene. Nicknamed 'Pharaoh's Daughter', the mummy became part of Faculty tradition. It even held a symbolic seat at the Annual Dinner, where its health was toasted each year. However, not all treated the relic with reverence. According to Faculty lore, members of the Rifle Corps once used the corpse for bayonet practice. At some point, the wrappings were peeled back and the skull was removed, leaving the mummy in a battered and 'dilapidated' state. By the early 20th century, efforts began to pass it on. In 1906, and again in 1954, the Faculty tried to donate the mummy to the Royal Scottish Museum. Both times, the offer was declined. The Egyptologists, appalled at its condition, declared it 'dilapidated beyond hope of repair' and added with dry finality: 'If it is never seen again by mortal eye, I can assure you that neither science, scholarship nor aesthetics will suffer in consequence.' Desperate to be rid of it, adverts were placed in newspapers. But the public didn't want it, nor did the Corporation Cleansing Department, which ruled that the mummy was technically a human body and could not be disposed of as litter. Without a death certificate, burial was also out of the question. In 1958, The Scotsman ran a story headlined Riddle of the Mummy Nobody Wants, No name, no sex, no admirers . It read: 'Even the legal brains which worked above its head cannot solve the disposal problem… "The mummy has lain for years in a gloomy, dusty, neglected corner of the cellars… The mummy without a name, without a sex and virtually without a custodian.' Yet the article sparked international curiosity. Letters poured in from across Europe and Australia, and among them was one from Dr A T Sandison, a radiologist at Glasgow University with an interest in ancient remains. He offered to take the mummy into his care, and the Faculty, no doubt relieved, accepted. After 210 years in Edinburgh, the mummy was sent to Glasgow in August 1958. When Dr Sandison died roughly 25 years later, his antiquities were donated to the Burrell Collection. Since then, the mummy's trail went cold. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Last year, a librarian from the Faculty of Advocates reached out to the Burrell Collection. Staff there confirmed they had received the Sandison collection in 1982 and were aware of two mummies held in locked storage, both headless, one badly decayed. Despite the name 'Pharaoh's Daughter', the damaged body is confirmed to be male. And according to Faculty librarian Jane Condie, that detail only adds to the intrigue. 'I was able to say, with a modicum of certainty, that the tatty auld bag of bones [held at the Burrell Collection] was likely to be the former Faculty Mummy,' she said. 'Unfortunately the storage facility was at that time inaccessible so I was unable to visit the Mummy myself. However, I did pass on some information – gleaned from the museum report of 1954 – about the condition of the Faculty Mummy's wrappings and coffin at that time. This may help The Burrell Collection make a definitive identification once they again have access.'
