Private property not part of land claim: KFN

The ongoing litigation between Port Coquitlam and Kwikwetlem First Nation will not touch anyone’s house, according to KFN Chief and Council.

The nation addressed concerns regarding land claims with a one-sentence statement released Thursday.

“Kwikwetlem First Nation would like to reassure all residents of Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam that we are not seeking privately owned homes or private residential property,” the release stated.

The nation filed a lawsuit in 2016 against Port Coquitlam, the province, Metro Vancouver and B.C. Housing.

The suit is “related to our claim of Aboriginal rights and title in our territory,” explained Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht in 2024.

The suit relates to the title claim on city-owned land including Gates Park and the South Shaughnessy lands. However, that litigation was recently suspended in favour of a process led by the province.

Port Coquitlam: “remains committed to vigorously defending public ownership of its municipal lands,” according to a release from the city.

The release also noted there “no private lands within Port Coquitlam” involved in the litigation.

“The city will continue to closely monitor the Cowichan proceedings and any related developments, and will protect public and private property rights within its jurisdiction,” the release stated.

A B.C. Supreme Court decision issued in August found Cowichan Tribes had established Aboriginal title to a swath of land on the south shore of Lulu Island, also called the Lands of Tl’uqtinus, on the Fraser River.

The decision should assist: “the revitalization of their historical practice of fishing for food on the Fraser River and teaching their children their traditional ways,” concluded Justice Barbara Young in her decision.

However, Young also noted: “much remains to be resolved through negotiation and reconciliation between the Crown and the Cowichan.”

Premier David Eby was critical of the decision.

“If you read that decision as a property owner, you would rightly be worried,” Eby said, according to reporting in the Vancouver Sun.

Contending that the implications of the case had been overstated, a release from Cowichan Tribes stated the case: “has not and does not challenge the effectiveness or validity of any title held by individual private landowners. The ruling does not erase private property,” according to reporting from APTN.