Canadian city fights order giving land rights to native tribes

The Canadian city of Richmond, British Columbia, planned to hold an information session Oct. 28 for city residents affected by a court ruling giving land rights to indigenous tribes. The city was appealing the ruling, according to documents on its website. Landowners whose properties were in question didn’t receive any prior notice of the ruling, according to the city.

What are the facts of the case? British Columbia’s Supreme Court in August ruled that roughly 1,800 acres inside the city belonged to local native tribes who were descendants of the Cowichan Nation. The area of land was part of a Cowichan fishing village until the late 1800s, when the Canadian government offered it to private property owners. The court said that the private land titles were invalid and ordered the provincial government to negotiate a solution. The ruling marked the first time a Canadian court granted present property rights in an urban area to people whose ancestors had not occupied the area for roughly 150 years, according to the city of Richmond.

While the city appealed the decision, some of the native plaintiffs also appealed—asking for rights to a larger parcel of land. The area granted by the court was only about 40% of the tribes’ total claimed area, according to city documents.

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