Tories demand government stand up for rights of property owners
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA – In the wake of last year’s B.C. Supreme Court decision challenging the rights of legal property owners in Metro Vancouver, Canada’s opposition Tories tabled a motion demanding the federal government ensure the rights of property owners are upheld.
In August 2025, the province’s highest court issued a decision recognizing Aboriginal title over portions of Richmond, B.C. – a move that allows private ownership and Aboriginal title to co-exist on the same land.
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That’s sparked concern among property owners in B.C.’s lower mainland and across Canada, fomenting fears that similar decisions could erode the rights of property owners.
“Despite claiming to believe that property rights are ‘fundamental,’ neither Prime Minister Mark Carney nor his Attorney General have taken any steps to change the government’s actual position in litigation,” read a press release issued Thursday by the federal Conservatives.
“When homes and property are at stake, Canadians deserve action from our elected officials.”
Motion demands property rights be paramount
In the motion introduced Thursday in the House of Commons, the Tories are calling on the government to maintain private title ownership over all over claims while doing away with directives from the government for their lawyers not to argue for “extinguishment” of Aboriginal claims.
According to directive no. 14 of the Attorney General of Canada’s Directive on Civil Litigation Involving Indigenous Peoples– ratified in 2021 by former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould – government lawyers are prevented from “relying on defences such as extinguishment, surrender, and abandonment,” stating that “Reconciliation is generally inhibited by pleading these defences.”
The motion also called on the Mark Carney Liberals to enshrine property protection in all future agreements with Canada’s First Nations to ensure property rights are maintained, produce a plan within 30 days to ensure property rights of Canadians are upheld, and appoint a committee to study legal, constitutional and political steps to ensure the rights of property owners.
“If the Liberal Prime Minister, and the government he leads, wants Canadians to trust that the results will match the rhetoric, then he should wholeheartedly support this motion,” the Conservatives said in their statement.
“Conservatives call on MPs from all parties to stand on the right side of history in defence of Canadians homes and businesses, and take steps that advance meaningful and lasting reconciliation.”