Monday August 11, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 3:20 pm | Updated at 3:52 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
A Vancouver Island First Nation has won a case in the BC Supreme Court to have rights to land in Richmond on the BC mainland. That was announced on Friday.
The Cowichan Tribes has been granted aboriginal title to part of Richmond’s south shore, a relatively small piece of land across from Tilbury River where historically the Vancouver Island tribe had a small fishing village.
Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels said in a news conference today that the Cowichan Tribes want to recover and restore their village and surrounding lands, reestabllish their permanent residence and river access, reestablish their cultural practices including food security and sustainability, realize economic development, and reestablish the truth of their history in that region.
Most of the land is Crown land but there are some small pieces of privately held land.
This is a historic case with many implications for First Nations and people who own property on private land that will now be considered rightfully owned by Indigenous tribes — but that the two can co-exist on the same land.
The ruling by Justice Barbara Young directs the Crown to decide how to settle ownership where current legal titles overlap with Cowichan’s newly-recognized title.
Appeal announced by Attorney General:
Today BC Attorney General Niki Sharma released the following statement about the Cowichan Tribes v. AG Canada et al. B.C. Supreme Court decision.
The statement was released at 1:56 pm; Sharma held a media availability in Vancouver at 2:15 pm.
“We disagree strongly with the decision. British Columbia will be filing an appeal and seeking a stay to pause implementation until the appeal is resolved.
“We respect the court’s role in our justice system, but given the significant legal issues raised in the recent decision in Cowichan Tribes v. AG Canada et al., we believe it must be reconsidered on appeal. This ruling could have significant unintended consequences for fee simple private property rights in B.C. that must be reconsidered by a higher court.
Protecting property rights:
Sharma said in answering media questions today that the reconciliation process is preferred over the legal process, for achieving results that work for all sides.
“Our government is committed to protecting and upholding private property rights, while advancing the critical work of reconciliation. This case is an example of why the Province prefers to resolve land claims through negotiation – where we can protect property rights directly – rather than risk considerable uncertainty through court decisions. We will continue to provide updates as this process moves forward.”
About the case:
The land claim ruling has been Canada’s longest trial. It was brought forward by four First Nations — Quw’utsun Nation, Cowichan Tribes, along with the Stz’uminus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Halalt First Nation and all other descendants of the Cowichan Nation — in 2019 to recover their government-held lands near the mouth of the Fraser River.
They also sought a declaration of an Aboriginal right to fish the south arm of the Fraser River for food.
Today, land in the claim area is owned by the federal Crown, the B.C. government, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City of Richmond and private third parties.
The defendants in the case were not only the federal government, the B.C. government and the port authority, but also the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Musqueam Indian Band.
The ruling by Justice Barbara Young directs the Crown to decide how to settle ownership where current legal titles overlap with Cowichan’s newly-recognized title.
About Cowichan Tribes:
The Cowichan Tribes are the largest single First Nation Band in British Columbia by population. Their traditional land area is the Cowichan Valley region on Vancouver Island.
In recent weeks, Alistair MacGregor (former NDP Member of Parliament for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford) has started working as the Chief Administration Officer (CAO) for Cowichan Tribes, working with Chief and Council on behalf of the Quw’utsun Mustimuhw (Cowichan Peoples).
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