Canada’s top court needs to quickly decide whether Aboriginal title overrides private property rights, or risk freezing British Columbia’s economy under years of uncertainty. That’s the pitch from Opposition BC Conservative Leader John Rustad in a letter Tuesday appealing to the federal attorney general to intervene in the recent Cowichan Nation court case and send the issue as a reference question to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“This is a matter of significant national concern, with particular resonance in British Columbia,” Rustad wrote to Attorney General Sean Fraser.

“The province’s land ownership system now operates under uncertainty, and the already difficult investment climate will be further destabilized at a time when the federal government has emphasized the importance of movi

See Full Page