Land claims shocker

Leaders on the Frontier with David Leis: The British Columbia Supreme Court’s ruling in Cowichan Tribes v. Canada has exposed a profound clash in Canadian law. Exploring the implications of that decision, Prof. Bruce Pardy asserts Aboriginal title—a communal, inalienable right—cannot peacefully coexist with individual fee-simple ownership. With hundreds of Richmond, B.C., properties suddenly sitting on recognized Indigenous title (including submerged lands), mortgages are stalling and sales are freezing. While mass evictions are unlikely, Prof. Pardy argues the logic of the decision may eventually force governments to expropriate private land to honour Aboriginal title, and—because ordinary property rights were left out of the 1982 Charter—compensation is not constitutionally guaranteed. A decades-long judicial expansion of Aboriginal rights has now collided with the reality of suburban Canada. Prof. Pardy predicts a public backlash that could force a national reckoning with reconciliation itself.