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The province’s appeal of the B.C. Supreme Court’s Cowichan Tribes land title ruling is expected to loom large as Indigenous leaders meet with Premier David Eby and cabinet ministers starting Tuesday in Vancouver. It’s for the 10th B.C. Cabinet and First Nations Leaders’ Gathering, an annual event that brings together provincial and First Nations leaders. This year, the issue on everyone's minds will be the court decision that granted the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Nation Aboriginal title to between 300 and 324 hectares of land in Richmond. “It’s a very tense situation that we enter into this meeting with,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip with the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, speaking with CBC News in advance of the meeting. On Tuesday morning, Phillip stood with leaders from the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations and First Nations Summit, alongside Eby, and spoke to media about the ruling that declared Crown and city titles in an area of Richmond invalid. The decision has resulted in uncertainty among home and business owners, though the Cowichan say their case was never aimed at private landowners. "This decision has really highlighted, I hope, for Canada and British Columbia, the need to invigorate the B.C. treaty process and the need to advance that process to conclude more agreements," said Lyackson First Nation hereditary chief Shana Thomas with the First Nations Summit. Eby said the province is asking for a stay on the ruling to give the Court of Appeal time to review it. He defended that position on Tuesday, saying the province needs time to find a way to reconcile historical wrongs made against Indigenous people while balancing the private-property rights of current landowners. "This is a challenge, but it's certainly not impossible. We've done it before in Haida Gwaii, we do it regularly through treaty, and I do believe there is a path forward here for the province, but those two elements need to be addressed," he said. Canada recognized Aboriginal title over the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off British Columbia's northern coast in a historic agreement in February of this year. Phillip said the meetings, to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, are a crucial opportunity for leaders to clarify their stances. “We’ll continue advancing our positions that have been held up by the Supreme Court on numerable occasions and continue to seek reasonableness and people’s genuine commitment to reconciliation,” he said. Phillip says he’s hopeful the discussions will focus on respectful dialogue and reconciliation. Regional Chief Terry Teegee with the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations said 204 First Nations communities were attending the meeting and seeking meaningful, continued dialogue and action over B.C.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which was brought into law in 2019.
