The Cowichan Title Ruling Heads to Appeal, With Stays Sought Before It Takes Effect
CBC News says it obtained copies of submissions filed in B.C.'s Court of Appeal in multiple bids to stay parts of the landmark B.C. Supreme Court Quw'utsun (Cowichan) Nation Aboriginal title decision before it comes into full effect in February 2027.
Young's decision established Aboriginal title for the Quw'utsun over up to 325 hectares (800 acres) of riverside property and submerged land in Richmond, owned by the federal Crown, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City of Richmond and private landowners. The province of B.C. claims public confidence in the land registration system and the essential work of reconciliation is in peril.
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The list of appellants is the striking part: the province, Canada's attorney general, the Port of Vancouver, the City of Richmond, the Musqueam Indian Band and the Tsawwassen First Nation — plus the Quw'utsun themselves, who had originally sought title to a much larger area. Arguments on the appeals are not set to begin until November 2027, so the stays are where the practical fight sits for now.
The property question gets the headlines, but the ruling also declared a Quw'utsun right to fish for food in the south arm of the Fraser River — waters it identifies as traditional territory for both the Musqueam and the Tsawwassen. That puts other nations' interests squarely in the frame, not just private owners and dikes.