VANCOUVER – A British Columbia First Nation appealing the landmark Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling says it will not be “coming for anyone’s private property” if it wins.
Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow says in a statement it is appealing the August decision by the B.C. Supreme Court to defend its traditional territory and fishing rights.
Sparrow says the appeal does not involve the Musqueam claiming private property or fee simple land, and the nation would rather negotiate “settlement and relationship agreements that benefit all parties.”
The statement comes after the Aug. 7 decision confirmed the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title over roughly 300 hectares of land on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., in what the Musqueam calls part of its own traditional unceded territory.
The ruling, which says Crown grants of private titles on the land “unjustifiably” infringed on the Cowichan title, has raised concerns about the impact on private title in the claim area and beyond.
Some deals involving Richmond properties have already fallen because of concerns about the Cowichan decision, in which the judge says sections of the Land Title Act that establish fee-simple private land ownership title as “indefeasible” do not apply to Aboriginal title.
The Cowichan Tribes did not seek to have private titles invalidated in their case.
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