The City of Richmond has launched the first salvo in what will ultimately be the battle to decide the future of private land ownership in British Columbia. By failing to make its best arguments to defend the public interest, British Columbia’s NDP government has created uncertainty in private property ownership, the economically crucial real estate market, and cast a cloud over any future investment in the province related to land. The issue is complex but at its heart comes to down to a simple question: will Aboriginal Title ultimately supersede fee simple title, which guarantees private property rights?

In August, a landmark court decision concluded that the Cowichan First Nation had Aboriginal title to land claimed and that fee simple title land in that area was “defective and invalid,

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