Today marks the National day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is an important opportunity to recognize the history of our country and province, together with the lasting impacts of residential schools. It is also a day to reflect on reconciliation and Canada’s history from the perspective of Indigenous Peoples.
For those of us in real estate, this intersects with the central issue regarding aboriginal title and the outstanding issues with how it interacts with private property rights. The most recent court case is the Cowichan decision, but aboriginal property rights began much earlier in the history of our case law. These are very important and complex issues for homeowners and governments, and they deserve thoughtful care and attention, as well as respectful dialogue.
Recently, our provincial government called an election for October 24th. Each political party has taken a different approach as it relates to the aboriginal title issue. Regardless of your political stance, today is a day to reflect on different perspectives and recognize our duty to be informed and engaged on the issues affecting our province and our communicates.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and one of our roles as lawyers is to help foster constructive discussion. Regardless of your perspective, we urge everyone to exercise their democratic right to vote in our upcoming provincial election.