The Mayor of Richmond, Malcolm Brodie, and the city’s council have penned a letter to pressure the B.C. government to provide written clarity in the Cowichan land title case.
Brodie says on Wednesday that the letter was written because of public statements by B.C. Premier David Eby and the Indigenous nation have not gone far enough in ending uncertainty for private property owners.
The B.C. Supreme Court decided last year that the Cowichan Tribes has title over a portion of southeast Richmond.
In response to the court ruling, Indigenous leaders have repeatedly said that they have no interest in privately held land.
Brodie, however, says that it does not suffice, and uncertainty will continue to swirl until there is a legally binding document waiving any claims to those lands.
“They said it to give confidence to the landowners in Richmond,” Brodie told 1130 NewsRadio.
“If the landowners are to truly have confidence, then there has to be a legal renunciation of any claim to private property.”
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Brodie calls on Eby to push for a legally binding document in his negotiations with the Cowichan Tribes because “if push comes to shove, they have no legal leg to stand on.”
“If they’re not prepared to make that kind of legal renunciation, then people should know that, it is that simply.”
The mayor and the Richmond councillors say that affected landowners have been in turmoil for too long, and only a signed document can ease the situation.
“Obviously, the land you own is a very fundamental,” Brodie said.
“I hear of great concern from people in the area. I guess the loudest voice is the Montrose Properties, which is a commercial and industrial owner of hundreds of acres in the area.”
He also criticizes the provincial government for its secrecy, which he claims started before the court ruling and has been going on ever since.
In the letter, he and his allies are additionally requesting that all future negotiations be open and transparent to the public.
The letter, which was already issued on Monday, was published just a day before Eby is scheduled to meet with Indigenous leaders on Thursday.
During an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, the premier dispelled concerns that the ruling will affect landowners.
“Private property owners have nothing to fear from the negotiations. That private property is not part of this negotiation, full stop,” Eby said.
During the meeting with Indigenous leaders, Eby is expected to pitch changes to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), the legal framework meant to guide reconciliation efforts, including land claims.
“To say that Indigenous leadership is enthusiastic about any change would be a total misstatement. They are not. And so, it has been a challenging conversation, but it is non-negotiable for the provincial government,” Eby explained.
He also addressed criticism from First Nations and the opposition about the fast pace of the proposed changes to the legislation.
“It is a very unfortunate situation, and we are rushed. This comes out of a court decision that significantly redefined a piece of legislation that all sides of the
House at one point thought we were quite clear about what it meant,” Eby said.
“So, we are having to move quickly to make amendments in order to address some serious legal liabilities.”
Indigenous leadership argues that any change to DRIPA would turn back the clock on relations between the provincial government and First Nations by decades.
Ever since the Cowichan Tribes court ruling in August 2025, the B.C. Conservatives have criticized the NDP government for not being transparent enough with the population.
“We’ve been told there is no impact on private property, but clearly, that message is not landing, especially when the NDP says one thing to one group and something else to another,” Conservative Interim Leader Trevor Halford said in a written statement.
“The NDP has failed to provide confidence. When people don’t have certainty, that uncertainty becomes the issue.”
– With files from Dean Recksiedler.