Indigenous land title and private property “can’t coexist”: Rustad

John Rustad said the current understanding of Indigenous title rights and private property rights are incompatible and has called on the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the issue.

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Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad said the current understanding of Indigenous title rights and private property rights are incompatible and has called on the Supreme Court of Canada to clarify the issue.

“This is going to create a huge, huge problem for all of British Columbia,” said Rustad while speaking at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities on Friday.

“It’s not that we don’t need to address title - we do need to address title. But Indigenous rights and private property rights cannot coexist.”

Rustad’s comments follow a B.C. The Supreme Court ruling that resulted in Cowichan Tribes being given 7.5 square kilometres of land in Richmond last month.

According to the decision, the previous land titles granted by the government, including private property, were invalid.

The decision recognized the Cowichan Nation’s Aboriginal title to parts of Lulu Island and the Fraser River’s south arm, concluding a five-year, 513-day trial — described as the longest in Canadian history.

The plaintiffs, including five tribes and several individuals, sought declarations of Aboriginal title over approximately 1,846 acres on Lulu Island, which now forms part of Richmond, home to B.C.’s largest airport.

Subsequently, with the exception of lands tied to the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project, the court ruled that land titles held by Canada and the City of Richmond in Cowichan territory are legally flawed and invalid.

The City of Richmond, the province and the Musqueam First Nation have all filed appeals of the decision.

“With your private property rights, you have the right to put up a fence, put up a sign saying ‘no trespassing.’ Call the police if somebody comes onto your property,” said Rustad.

“Indigenous rights for title say that Indigenous people can go on the land, they can use the land for their purpose, and they benefit from that land. How do those two coexist? They can’t.”

Rustad urged the Supreme Court of Canada to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“We need to know the rules on this. That’s why as the Conservative Party we put forward to the federal government to say, ‘please put a reference question directly to the Supreme Court of Canada. Ask the Supreme Court to make a decision: ‘Do private property rights extinguish Indigenous rights when it comes to title?’” he said.

He went on to say that while Canada’s constitution protects Aboriginal title, it does not address private property rights, which creates significant uncertainty for many different parties.

Rustad said the issue must be resolved to allow the province to grow its economy and to mitigate other ongoing social challenges.