1; 4-8; 11-14; 25-29, 2022
May 2-6; 9-13, 2022
June 8-9; 20; 22-24; 27-30, 2022
July 11-12; 15; 18-22, 2022
September 12-16; 20-23; 26; 28-29, 2022
October 17; 24-28, 2022
November 1-2; 28; 30, 2022
February 28, 2023
June 19-23; 26-30, 2023
July 17-21; 24-27; 31, 2023
August 1-4, 2023
September 5-8; 11-15; 18-22; 25-29, 2023
October 10-13; 16-20; 23-27; 30-31, 2023
November 1-2; 14, 2023
Place and
Dates of Trial:
Duncan, B.C.
January 20-24; 27-28, 2020
July 5-7, 2023
Place and
Date of Judgment:
Victoria, B.C.
August 7, 2025
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
[1]
The plaintiffs, on
their own behalf and on behalf of the descendants of the historic Cowichan
Nation, brought this action seeking a declaration of Aboriginal title to their
traditional village of Tl'uqtinus on the south arm of the Fraser River, and to
its surrounding lands and submerged lands. They also seek a declaration of an
Aboriginal right to fish the south arm of the Fraser River for food.
[2]
The Claim Area,
which the plaintiffs call the Lands of Tl'uqtinus, is located on what is now
the south shore of Lulu Island, across from Tilbury Island, in Richmond,
British Columbia. Today, land in the Claim Area is owned by the federal Crown,
the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), the City of Richmond
(Richmond), and private third parties. It covers approximately 1,846 acres of
land, as well as certain surrounding lands held by Canada or Richmond. See the
map attached to the reasons for judgment as Schedule B, depicting the Federal
Tl'uqtinus Lands and the Richmond Tl'uqtinus Lands.
[3]
Six defendants
opposed the plaintiffs claim: Canada, British Columbia, Richmond, the VFPA,
Tsawwassen First Nation, and the Musqueam Indian Band.
[4]
The trial commenced
in September 2019. There were a total of 513 trial days. The Court heard oral
history evidence and considered a substantial volume of historical documents
and ethnographic evidence.
Expert evidence was tendered
in fields including archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology, history,
ethnohistory, ethnogeography, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, genealogy, historical
geography, cartography, cartology and transportation economics.
[5]
The plaintiffs have
established Aboriginal title to a portion of the Claim Area, including a strip
of submerged lands, referred to in the reason