
Canada’s longest trial ends in precedent-setting B.C. land claim ruling for 4 First Nations
Global News
The piece of land in question is a 750-hectare parcel in Richmond, including city and port lands, farms, golf courses and commercial properties.
The B.C. Supreme Court has delivered a precedent-setting ruling on a land claim brought forward by four First Nations after a multi-year court battle.
The piece of land in question is a 750-hectare parcel in Richmond, including city and port lands, farms, golf courses and commercial properties.
The Quw’utsun Nation, Cowichan Tribes, along with the Stz’uminus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Halalt First Nation and all other descendants of the Cowichan Nation, launched legal action in 2019 to recover their government-held lands near the mouth of the Fraser River – known as the traditional village of Tl’uqtinus.
They also sought a declaration of an Aboriginal right to fish the south arm of the Fraser River for food.
Today, land in the claim area is owned by the federal Crown, the B.C. government, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, the City of Richmond and private third parties.
The defendants in the case were not only the federal government, the B.C. government and the port authority but also the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Musqueam Indian Band.
“This is the first case that we’ve really seen First Nations pitted against each other, in an Aboriginal title trial,” Aaron Wilson, a member of the Musqueam Nation and an associate at Mandel Pinder LLP, which represented the nation.
“We’re talking about years of work, millions of dollars in legal fees.”













