A proposed class-action lawsuit in B.C. is accusing the provincial and federal governments of failing to keep property owners informed about the implications stemming from the Cowichan Tribes aboriginal title ruling.
The lawsuit filed Nov. 21 in B.C. Supreme Court accuses the province and Ottawa of having “long-standing” knowledge that unresolved indigenous land claims could jeopardize the security of property ownership in Canada.
The claim argues that both governments failed to “properly defend the rights of property owners” impacted by a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that awarded aboriginal land title to the Cowichan Tribes this summer for roughly 750 acres of land in Richmond, B.C. The land in question is located east of the Massey Tunnel, where the nation had a historical village….