Richmond property owners worried after First Nations land claim

A letter from the City of Richmond sent to a group of 150 property owners is raising alarm bells in the city.

The notice follows a groundbreaking B.C. Supreme Court decisions on a First Nations land claim.

The ruling gives the Cowichan Nation title to 7.5 square kilometres of land in South Richmond, including city and port lands, farms, golf courses and commercial properties.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie is now warning property owners that the case could compromise the validity of their ownership and he has invited them to an information session later this month.

The Musqueam Indian Band has also joined the City of Richmond and the B.C. government in appealing the case.

“So the question is … will anybody want to ever buy a property that is affected?” Brodie said.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad is calling on the federal government to refer the land claim ruling to the country’s highest court.

“There isn’t an area in the province that isn’t going to be potentially impacted by the decision that is coming from this court case,” Rustad said.

One of the property owners who received the letter told Global News he is shocked this could happen.

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“We don’t want to be moving anywhere,” Bal Batth said. “We don’t want to be giving up this property and have no intentions of selling this property.”

A statement sent by the office of Attorney General Niki Sharma reads in part, “Our government is committed to protecting and upholding private property rights, while advancing the critical work of reconciliation. This will always be our approach.

“To resolve outstanding questions, this ruling must be considered by a higher court.”

The 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, launched legal action in 2019 to recover their government-held lands near the mouth of the Fraser River, known as the traditional village of Tl’uqtinus.

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.

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