Re: Urgent Request to Appeal Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General), 2025 BCSC 1490

Dear Minister Chandra Herbert and Minister Sharma,

I am writing to demand that the Government of British Columbia immediately file an appeal of the B.C. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Cowichan Tribes v. Canada (Attorney General) 2025 BCSC 1490, which grants Aboriginal title to a large section of land in Richmond, along with fishing rights over the south arm of the Fraser River.

This decision has sweeping implications for every British Columbian—Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. It sets a dangerous precedent by effectively placing private property, municipal infrastructure, port lands, and public-use areas under overlapping Aboriginal Title. This overlap will create legal uncertainty, erode the principle of clear title, and undermine the very foundation Premier David Eby himself has described as “key to borrowing for a mortgage, economic certainty, and the real estate market.”

This judgment has already demonstrated its divisive impact—pitting First Nations against one another, as in the dispute between Cowichan and Musqueam, and straining relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across the province. Reconciliation cannot be achieved through division or by stripping rights from one group to grant them to another. It must be built on mutual respect, legal certainty, and solutions that foster unity and stand the test of time.

Allowing this decision to stand will only invite further conflict, deter economic investment, and place vital infrastructure at risk. The City of Richmond has already warned that as much as $100 billion in critical infrastructure could be thrown into legal uncertainty. Combined with this government’s ongoing lack of transparency and consistency on land and title matters, the precedent set here will fuel instability for years to come—in this matter and in similar matters that follow.

The Premier has indicated the potential to negotiate a settlement on this issue behind closed doors. This is simply not an option. British Columbians want increased accountability and transparency with the Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation process—a chapter that, I must say, your government has missed the mark on. More closed-door meetings will increasingly erode trust, leading to speculation and further division among British Columbians. An official appeal is the only responsible option your government should be considering at this time.

I urge your government to stand by Premier Eby’s own stated commitment to “protecting and upholding this foundation of business and personal predictability” by appealing this ruling now, before it causes lasting damage to reconciliation, our economy, and the democratic rights we all share.

Kind Regards,

Scott McInnis Member of the Legislative Assembly
Columbia River-Revelstoke
Critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation