John Carpay, B.A., LL.B., is president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca)
There are now questions around whether large swathes of Vancouver could be closer to belonging to an aboriginal band thanks to the “Rights Recognition Agreement” signed in secret between the Musqueam Indian Band and Canada’s federal government. This agreement recognizes issues related to aboriginal title within not only Vancouver, but also Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and parts of Coquitlam, Delta, and Surrey, plus smaller towns and villages.
Some might say “relax!” and assert that millions of B.C. homeowners will never, ever have to worry about paying rent to their new 1,500 or so Musqueam landlords. The Musqueam Indian Band itself states that the agreement does not relate to land ownership, and “there are absolutely no impacts to fee simple lands / private property. We recognize how impactful the Cowichan judgement has been on everyone – including us. It’s why we are appealing the judgement.”
Read more about this issue in John Carpay’s latest column here
