Welcome to Richmond, British Columbia, a suburb of Metro Vancouver.
This is a letter the city sent to residents to notify them that their home might belong to the natives who once camped there 200 years ago.
Please take note that the recent BC Supreme Court decision of Cowichan Tribes v Canada, 2025 BCSC 1490 made some very important decisions which could negatively affect the title to your property. A briefing paper prepared by City of Richmond staff is attached for your reference.
If you look at the draft map attached to the briefing, your property is located within the Claim Area outlined in green. For those whose property is in the area outlined in black, the Court has declared aboriginal title to your property which may compromise the status and validity of your ownership - this was mandated without any prior notice to the landowners. The entire area outlined in green is claimed on appeal by the Cowichan First Nations.
Given the serious implications of this Court decision and the pending appeal, The City is hosting an information session to be held on Tuesday October 28, 2025, at 7:00pm at Richmond City Hall. We hope that you can attend to learn more about this important situation.
Please phone us at 604-276-4123 or email us at [email protected] to confirm your attendance.
Yours truly,
Malcolm D. Brodie
Mayor, City of Richmond
Here's more context on the situation:
And more from The Globe And Mail:
The Mayor said in an interview that many affected property owners were unaware of the ruling and, once informed, became deeply concerned about what it might mean, prompting the information session.
'I think this is one of the most significant rulings in the history of the province, and maybe the country,' Mr. Brodie said Sunday. 'I think it potentially could dismantle the land title system, certainly in our province, with ramifications across the country.'
Justice Barbara Young's 863-page ruling, in what was billed as the longest trial in Canada's history, said that the Cowichan Tribes 'have established Aboriginal title' to roughly 800 acres in the city, as well as an Aboriginal right to fish for food.
There are a few statements in that quote that should perk up your ears.
A liberal female judge issued an 863-page ruling ordering that private properties, some of which have been in families for generations, must return to the hands of a nomadic tribe that once loosely lived on the land hundreds of years ago, long before anyone who is currently alive was ever born.
This matter was so important to the judge and other liberal allies that it was the "longest trial in Canada's history." It is also seen as setting a precedent for confiscating property across the nation.
Aboriginal title refers to ownership rights by Indigenous peoples to territory their ancestors traditionally lived on and never ceded. Courts have confirmed that it is constitutionally protected, giving Indigenous peoples jurisdictional authority over ownership and occupation, as well as the right to determine how the land is used.
If you're wondering what historical and legal evidence the judge used to make her pivotal ruling, well ... the natives' great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfathers used to fish in this general area every summer, so that apparently makes them the owners of everything now.
The Cowichan Tribes, whose home territory is on Vancouver Island, in centuries past travelled en masse to the area on the south arm of the Fraser River, where they had an annual summer fishing village. They were displaced from the village in the mid-1800s as the British took control and, after B.C. joined Canada, the land was sold over the years.
A spokesman for the Cowichan Tribes, Robert Morales, said they don't plan to take anyone's home (pinky promise?).
'The nations have always stated that they are not interested in, and not wanting to, displace the ordinary British Columbian from their land, understanding that that's a pretty serious position to take,' Mr. Morales, who is a member of the Cowichan Tribes, said in an interview.
The governments of British Columbia and Richmond are appealing the ruling. In the meantime, the city has 18 months "to make the necessary arrangements" for the land to be handed over to the tribes.
Sure is great that the Canadian government made their citizens "safer" by banning all sorts of guns, eh?
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