A shocking British Columbia Supreme Court ruling has stripped private titles from longtime residents and handed them to the Cowichan Tribes, citing “Aboriginal title” under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
On August 7, the court placed 7.5 square kilometers of Richmond, BC, under tribal control—erasing generations of private ownership overnight. One hundred and fifty families were blindsided, receiving letters warning that their mortgages and land titles were suddenly “compromised.” Many say they never imagined something like this could happen in Canada.
What’s framed as “reconciliation,” critics warn, is actually a UN-backed land grab in disguise—one that puts local land under global control. They argue UNDRIP isn’t about Indigenous empowerment, but about advancing “smart city” surveillance and centralized governance.
If your land and your home isn’t safe from this, what is?
