B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young will not allow the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title case to be reopened for the private landowner Montrose Properties to be added as a defendant.
Young's decision demands the province solve the problem it created in granting private title to indigenous land.
Young "declares that Aboriginal title is the “prior, senior right,” meaning it is a constitutionally protected right with more importance than a statutory right, such as private fee simple title. But despite it being declared senior, Young still allows that both those rights are valid on the same parcels of land, ordering the government to figure out what to do about it."
"Permitting the case to be relitigated in this way would be an “abuse of process,” the judge found.
“Although Montrose did not have formal notice of the proceeding, it had knowledge of the proceedings, and chose not to apply to be added as [a] party until long after the conclusion of the trial,” Young wrote..
"Rosenberg, the lawyer for the Cowichan Tribes, argued that nothing prevented property owners from being notified unofficially and pointed out that a large, well-resourced company like Montrose had no excuse to claim it was unaware."
“At long last, the trial has concluded, and the hard work of reconciliation can get underway,” said Cowichan co-counsel David Rosenberg. This means the return of government lands, and it also means the Province of British Columbia will have to negotiate with the Cowichan about private land."
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https://campbellrivermirror.com/2026/06/29/court-declines-to-reopen-cowichan-tribes-case-to-add-private-landowner-montrose/
