The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a ruling that Aboriginal title cannot be declared over private land, in a decision the federal government says will have an impact on the Cowichan Tribes case in British Columbia.
The refusal by Canada’s High Court to hear a First Nation’s appeal against the decision in New Brunswick establishes a precedent that First Nations can seek compensation for loss of traditional lands, but they will not be able to assert ownership.
The Crown-Indigenous Relations Department says the ruling will inform arguments in other cases, including Cowichan, adding that “private property rights are fundamental.”
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The B.C. Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of the Cowichan Nation found it had “established Aboriginal title” to more than 5.7 square kilometres of land along the Fraser River in Richmond.
The provincial and federal governments and other First Nations are appealing that decision.
B.C.’s Attorney General, Niki Sharma, told reporters on Thursday that B.C.’s argument is essentially what the court found in New Brunswick.
“So we think it is very interesting that the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear that case, so therefore leave that law in place,” she said.
“I think that it bodes well for our legal issues here and what we are trying to sort out and our arguments that we made before the courts here.”
Sharma said she thinks the ruling gives the province a clear path to an appeal in B.C.
“It’s an interesting state right now where the Supreme Court has decided to not take a look at that law, so not to overturn that decision in New Brunswick when it’s the same legal issues that we’re dealing with here,” she added.
“I think that bodes well for our arguments and the appeals that we are seeking in B.C.”
More coming.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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