A proposed class action lawsuit accuses the federal and B.C. governments of keeping property owners in the dark amid the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling.
The lawsuit — filed in B.C. Supreme Court — appears to be the first separate civil suit to emerge from a groundbreaking decision that found that Aboriginal title co-exists with so-called fee simple title on about 150 pieces of private property in Richmond, B.C.
The proposed class action alleges the federal and B.C. governments failed to “properly defend the rights of property owners” caught up in Justice Barbara Young’s ruling, which awarded Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Nation Aboriginal title to between 300 and 325 hectares of land just east of the Massey Tunnel, where the nation once had a traditional village.
The decision has resulted in confusion and uncertainty over what it means for the status and validity of private ownership, despite Indigenous leaders calling how the City of Richmond and the province have reacted to it fear-mongering and a barrier to reconciliation.
Young’s ruling doesn’t invalidate individual property rights, but the judge said the Crown would have to work with the Quw’utsen to “negotiate and reconcile” the co-existence of Aboriginal title and private property rights.
She suspended her ruling for 18 months to allow governments time to understand the decision and figure out how to proceed with it.
The province and the City of Richmond are both appealing Young’s decision, as are the other parties to the ruling.
The new legal action claims misfeasance, which in this case means the wrongful exercise of legal authority.
Filed on Nov. 21, it alleges the two senior levels of government misled property owners by continuing to assure the public that private property was “safe, marketable and free from material qualification” despite having knowledge of potential risks posed by unresolved Indigenous land claims.
It also claims the governments “caused economic and psychological harm” to the plaintiffs and any future class members by collecting taxes, fees and charges “based on inflated or misinformed property values.”
The lead plaintiff is Jasjeet Rampee Grewall, who the claim says owns a hazardous material removal company in Burnaby. It also lists a Richmond property owner as a second plaintiff under the name “John Doe,” a legal term often used as a placeholder in class action proceedings before actual people have been found.
The suit seeks relief — potentially for all private property owners in B.C. — in several ways, including general damages “for loss of property value and mental distress,” along with “restitution or disgorgement of taxes and fees collected under misrepresented conditions.”
It also seeks a declaration from the province and federal governments that their “conduct was unlawful and contrary to their duties of good faith and candour; a declaration requiring full disclosure of known risks affecting registered property in British Columbia.”
None of the claims have been proven in court, and the proposed class action will require certification from a judge before it can proceed.
CBC News has contacted the provincial and federal governments for comment.
They have 21 days to file legal responses from the time of being served with the claim.
