Premier Eby says B.C. will ask court to stay implementation of Cowichan Tribes case

By Canadian Press on October 29, 2025.

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government will be asking for a stay of the implementation of the Cowichan Tribes case that confirmed Aboriginal title over an area of private and government-owned land in Richmond, B.C.

Eby says a stay would give the British Columbia Court of Appeal an opportunity to consider and decide on the landmark case that has sparked concerns about the implications for private land ownership.

Although the August declaration of Aboriginal title by the B.C. Supreme Court was suspended for 18 months, Eby says he hopes the Court of Appeal will use the requested stay to provide some “clarity and assistance” on the direction of the case.

The ruling says the Crown’s grants of private titles in the 750-acre area was an unjustified infringement of Cowichan rights.

Eby was speaking the day after the City of Richmond hosted a tense public meeting for hundreds of residents and land owners on Tuesday night about the precedent-setting case and its potential impacts on private property.

Eby says the ruling has been “very troubling for many people” in the area, including about 150 owners of private property in the title area.

He says Attorney General Niki Sharma and her team are currently collecting information from property owners, including whether they have been able to get mortgages or financing since the decision, and Eby is encouraging affected residents to come forward.

The Cowichan have accused Eby and other officials of spreading misinformation, because their case did not seek to overturn private property titles.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruling says the Cowichan Tribes have Aboriginal title over about 750 acres on the Fraser River, that Crown and city titles on the land are defective and invalid, and the granting of private titles on it by the government unjustifiably infringed on the Cowichan title.

Justice Barbara Young said the 18-month suspension of the title declaration was to give the Cowichan, Canada, and Richmond time to make “necessary arrangements.”

Tuesday’s meeting heard from angry owners, including Kal Mattu, who said private land holders should have been warned about the case sooner.

Mattu said later he planned to bring his own lawsuit over the situation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press