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Vaughn Palmer: B.C. Conservative bill seeks public notice of Indigenous land title cases

Opinion: Private bill unlikely to become law as ruling NDP is wrapped in a culture of secrecy

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VICTORIA — The B.C. government would have to notify owners of private land if their property is on the table in court claims of Aboriginal title or provincial negotiations with Indigenous nations, under legislation introduced by the B.C. Conservatives.

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The Aboriginal Title Transparency Act is no more likely to gain approval of the NDP majority than other bills introduced by the Opposition. But it does underscore growing public concerns about the status of private land in Aboriginal title cases and in the NDP government drive for Indigenous reconciliation.

Vaughn Palmer: B.C. Conservative bill seeks public notice of Indigenous land title cases Back to video

“Across this province, negotiations and legal proceedings related to Aboriginal title are unfolding quietly, often behind closed doors, while the people most directly affected are left in the dark,” Conservative MLA Scott McInnis said in introducing the bill on Monday.

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“Landowners, families, communities, businesses — they are not asking to be obstructive. They are asking to be informed.”

His bill would ensure “that when government enters into negotiations or is involved in proceedings that could affect privately held land, those impacted will receive clear, timely notice — not after the fact, not through rumour but directly, transparently and in plain terms.”

“The government wants to go to the wall for private property owners, said McInnes, quoting what Premier David Eby said to the B.C. Chamber of Commerce last December. “Well here’s a first step in the right direction.”

The NDP reluctance to disclose the full extent of claims of Aboriginal title to private land is well documented.

Last year, my Postmedia colleague Gordon Hoekstra asked the government for a comprehensive list of claims of Aboriginal title cases before courts in B.C. The Ministry of the Attorney General refused to provide such a list, nor did it make anyone available to explain its reasons. Instead a ministry representative recommended a search of all the cases in all the court registries in the province.

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Also last year, the New Democrats belatedly released the terms of an agreement with the shíshálh Nation on the Sunshine Coast, including $104 million in funding and unspecified tracts of private land. The agreement was signed in secret before the 2024 election, but not disclosed until after the votes were counted.

The New Democrats went into court last September to support the Haida Nation in securing constitutional recognition of Aboriginal title over all of Haida Gwaii, private land included.

The province’s stated-in-court reason for supporting the application was to head off the possibility that a change of government could undo NDP recognition of Haida title.

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The New Democrats didn’t disclose any of that publicly. The only reason the public learned of the government’s action was because the Haida disclosed it.

In the Cowichan case, decided last August, B.C. Supreme Court recognized Aboriginal title over public and private land in Richmond.

The court turned down a government application to provide advance notice to landowners that their property was included in the claim. Instead the court told the province that it was free to give such notice if it wished.

The province chose not to do so out of a concern for legal liability, Premier David Eby explained recently.

“If the province took on the responsibility of providing notification, if we failed to notify somebody, or if we provided them inaccurate information, or understated the threat that they faced, or told them that the court said that their interests wouldn’t be affected, but ultimately the court came down in their decision and directly affected those property interests, the province itself would be sued,” said Eby.

“Taxpayers would be on the hook for failing to provide adequate notification to private property owners.”

The Conservative bill would clearly put the onus for disclosure directly onto the province.

One provision would require the government to provide notice to all private owners where a declaration of Aboriginal title over their land is sought in court or where the province has entered into negotiations that could affect the status of their land.

The government would also be required to file a followup notice with the land title office with sufficient detail to identify the nature and extent of the claim in a title search.

A third provision would require the province to file an annual report to the legislature listing “all unresolved Aboriginal title claims and negotiations respecting Aboriginal title that may affect land in which there is one or more owners.”

In introducing the bill, McInnis insisted the purpose was to restore trust in the process of reconciliation with Indigenous people.

“Reconciliation cannot succeed if people feel excluded, uncertain or blindsided by decisions that affect their homes, their land and their future,” he said.

“This legislation brings sunlight into a process that for too long has operated without it. It strengthens — not weakens — the path forward.”

In followup interviews, he noted that the legislation would mean no change for First Nations. They would continue to have the right to claim title and pursue agreements as they see fit.

Rather the onus would be on the province to ensure openness and transparency. But that’s a tall order for a government as wedded to secrecy, coverup and denial as this one.

vpalmer@postmedia.com

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