British Columbia's property-rights crisis threatens business investment, expert warns
A Fraser Institute analysis argues that court decisions, DRIPA legislation, and Indigenous land agreements have created legal uncertainty that is dampening B.C. investment and could spread nationally.
Sources · Fraser Institute
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Property-rights uncertainty in British Columbia is threatening business investment and could extend the crisis across Canada if not resolved, according to an analysis by the Fraser Institute.
The institute identifies three sources of the crisis. In 2019, B.C. passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), incorporating the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into provincial law. UNDRIP grants Indigenous peoples the right to use, own, develop and control lands and territories they traditionally occupied, and to give or withhold "free, prior and informed consent" to activities on such territories.
Last November, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that the province's reformed mineral claims regime violated DRIPA, triggering more than 20 similar lawsuits. A B.C. Supreme Court decision also granted "Aboriginal title" covering more than 800 acres in Richmond to the Cowichan First Nation, ruling that such title is "prior and senior" to other property interests, including private fee-simple title. That decision has thrown the rights of more than 150 property-owners into question. The courts recently awarded Aboriginal title over Nootka Island, and similar cases remain pending.
The B.C. and federal governments have also entered bilateral agreements recognizing Aboriginal title and granting management powers over various areas, including Haida Gwaii and parts of Metro Vancouver, sometimes without input from non-Indigenous residents affected.
The Fraser Institute argues that private property rights—the authority to exclusively possess, use or transfer an asset—are essential to economic prosperity. B.C. already faces sluggish business investment, weak private-sector job growth, and stagnant living standards. More businesses are closing in the province than opening, and residents are leaving.
The institute has published a new essay series offering potential solutions, with University of Saskatchewan law professor Dwight Newman suggesting the use of existing constitutional mechanisms to clarify the relationship between Aboriginal title and other property interests.
What specific constitutional mechanisms could clarify the relationship between Aboriginal title and other property interests?
How many similar court cases regarding Aboriginal title are currently pending in B.C.?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
By the numbers
When did British Columbia pass DRIPA?
British Columbia passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) in 2019.
How many property-owners were affected by the Richmond Aboriginal title decision?
More than 150 property-owners in Richmond had their rights thrown into question by a B.C. Supreme Court decision that granted Aboriginal title covering more than 800 acres to the Cowichan First Nation.
How many mineral-claims lawsuits were triggered by the B.C. Court of Appeal ruling?
A B.C. Court of Appeal ruling last November that the province's reformed mineral claims regime violated DRIPA triggered more than 20 similar lawsuits.
