One of the biggest private property owners on Richmond land that is the subject of the Cowichan Tribes Land Title ruling is joining calls for the BC Supreme Court to make the rare decision to reopen the decision.
Montrose Properties owns a 179-acre industrial property, home to warehouses for several major companies including Coca-Cola and Canadian Tire, on the land in question.
Ken Low, president of Montrose, said the firm is surprised by the impact of the court case that it was not even a party to, and has no choice but to seek the reopening of the case.
In August, the court ruled that the Cowichan Tribes have Aboriginal title over the land, that Crown and city titles on it are defective and invalid, and the granting of private titles by the government unjustifiably infringed on the Cowichan title.
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Low says the firm doesn’t have “the luxury of waiting years” while an appeal is heard, so it will seek reopening instead.
“While this is not something that happens very often, it is possible, and we think this would be the quickest way to fix the issue for private parties,” Montrose said in a statement.
The company’s lawyer, Robin Junger, says the company will file the application to reopen the decision in the days ahead.
“We are hoping to resolve, in a constructive way, the question of how far this judgement goes in terms of affecting private parties,” he said.
“That’s the real nub of the issue, that’s what people are particularly concerned about in relation to this case.”
Cowichan Tribes has said repeatedly that they’re not looking to displace anyone from their properties.
Premier David Eby has said the province is asking for a stay on the ruling to give the Court of Appeal time to review it.
— With files from The Canadian Press.