'Private property rights must be upheld,' province says amid Aboriginal title uncertainty (Kamloops)

B.C.’s Ministry of Attorney General says the province’s position on a decade-old Aboriginal title claim for an area that includes Kamloops and Sun Peaks is firm, and that “private property rights must be upheld.” The Stk’emlupsemc of the Secwepemc Nation (SSN), made up of the Tk’emlups and Skeetchestn bands, filed a notice of claim in 2015 asserting Aboriginal title over an estimated 1.25-million hectares of their traditional territory — a swath of land centred around the confluence of the North and South Thompson rivers. The bands claim title over everything including Crown land, private property, railway infrastructure and mineral rights. The case, which is slowly moving through the court process, returned to the provincial spotlight this week when MLA Eleanore Sturko used it to accuse the provincial government of keeping British Columbians in the dark on private property rights as they relate to claims of Aboriginal title. A recent landmark ruling in a separate Aboriginal title case in Richmond is fuelling the discussion. In August, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that the Cowichan Tribe should be granted title over about 300 hectares of land within Richmond city limits. The implications of the Cowichan ruling are not yet clear. The judge suspended the implementation of Aboriginal title for 18 months “to allow for an orderly transition of the lands” in keeping with the principle of reconciliation, and the province plans to ask the B.C. Court of Appeal to issue a stay to provide some “clarity and assistance” on the direction of the case. When the SSN claim was filed in 2015, it was met with opposition from both the provincial and federal governments. The province said at the time it was “vigorously opposed” to the claim due to its potential to create “uncertainty over the land base and for private property owners across this territory.” The most recent response from the province to the SSN claim was filed in court nine years ago, so Castanet Kamloops asked whether that position had changed. “While the province will not comment on legal strategy in cases that are before the courts, the province’s response is consistent with the province’s ongoing position, reflected in our litigation and negotiation approaches, that private property rights must be upheld as we seek to advance reconciliation with First Nations in B.C.,” the ministry said in a statement. Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar told Castanet he’s been hearing from constituents, and he thinks they are right to be concerned. The SSN claim was last in court in September, when lawyers representing the parties — SSN, the province, the federal government and KGHM Ajax — met for a case planning conference. A trial date has not been set. Provincial officials and First Nations leaders met last week for two days amid tensions over the Cowichan ruling and questions of Aboriginal title.