The unprecedented British Columbia Supreme Court ruling awarding public and private lands to Indigenous groups raises concerning questions about property rights in Canada.

B.C. based Rebel News reporter Drea Humphrey recently asked Richmond Mayor Malcom Brodie about the issue and why he didn't warn residents of this potential outcome earlier.

She joined Thursday night's episode of The Ezra Levant Show to discuss how residents “didn't get a knock on the door, they didn't get a letter, they didn't get a phone call until Aboriginal title was already deemed over their land, and their own title was deemed defective and invalid by the B.C. Supreme Court.”

Drea clarified that the Cowichan ruling applies to “approximately 7.5 km of land,” and pointed out that all parties — including the Cowichan tribes, who are seeking more land — are appealing its result.

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A similar instance, notably without the court's involvement, played out in 2023. “The promise there was don't worry, it's not going to affect privately-owned lands,” Drea said. But “it means that people who live there are ruled under a government that they can't elect.”

“It sounds to me like the judges purposefully did not ring the alarm,” contended Ezra, suggesting the courts “didn't want all these interveners,” “these severely normal British Columbians,” in the legal process.

“Both the province and the city of Richmond said, 'hey, we should probably tell these homeowners,'” replied Drea. “Justice Young ruled, no, we're not going to do that.”

Drea also touched on what she saw while covering a town hall meeting in Richmond with Mayor Brodie, a lawyer for the city and B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma.

The city's lawyer “was really calling on the public to demand from the NDP government” it remove barriers placed on the provincial lawyers' abilities to argue to “extinguish Aboriginal title.”

British Columbia's adoption of United Nations policies, like its UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, “need to be addressed,” Drea said.

“We need to call on legislatures, our city officials, all of them, to bring forth security for property rights,” she stated. “We thought we had that; we're learning we don't. That needs to change.”