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Private Property

‘Private property rights are fundamental’: opposition parties calling on Premier to appeal landmark court decision

Aug 10, 2025 | 9:12 AM

RICHMOND, B.C. — The leader of B.C.’s newest political party is calling on the provincial government to appeal a court decision said to have wide-reaching legal implications for property rights in the province.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia on Friday (Aug. 8) granted Cowichan Tribes fishing rights on the Fraser River and title to a portion of almost seven-and-a-half square kilometres of land on Lulu Island in Richmond.

OneBC Leader Dallas Brodie says private property rights are fundamental to “human flourishing” adding the decision threatens the future of B.C. by establishing what her party calls a “racist, two-tiered constitutional framework that divides Indigenous and other Canadians.”

“This ruling puts into question the basic property rights of millions. B.C. must have a government that takes private property rights seriously,” a statement from OneBC said. “David Eby and John Rustad are both on record supporting aboriginal title and UNDRIP, which are undermining basic private property rights in our province.”

OneBC has also launched a petition and its demanding that the provincial government fight the decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

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Meanwhile, Rustad took to social media Friday and said private property rights “are the foundation of our democracy and our country.”

“Any decision that attacks our private property rights needs to be appealed and overturned,” he said. “Indigenous title and private property rights cannot co-exist overtop one another.”

“Losing private property rights on your home, your land, and undermining the rights that underpin our country is wrong — reconciliation cannot be achieved by taking rights away from one group and giving them to another.”

The Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations, along with the federal and provincial governments, the City of Richmond and the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority all opposed the claim made by the Cowichan Tribes during the 513-day trial.

But Justice Barbara Young ruled that land titles grants issued by the Canadian and B.C. governments to others “are defective and invalid” as they “unjustifiably infringe the Cowichan Nation Aboriginal title to these lands.”

The decision says both governments owe a duty to negotiate with the nation “in good faith” on how to reconcile its land title with what’s now in the territory, including the Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project property.

B.C. Premier David Eby on Friday said the provincial government is considering a possible appeal of the court decision.

“But let me be clear: owning private property with clear title is key to borrowing for a mortgage, economic certainty, and the real estate market,” Eby said.

“We remain committed to protecting and upholding this foundation of business and personal predictability, and our provincial economy, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.”

– With files from CFJC Today