The Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation has filed a title claim in Quebec Superior Court for significant portions of western Quebec. Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck asserts his people need a voice in managing the region's water, wildlife, and forestry.

The Aboriginal title claim spans eight areas, reported the Canadian Press, including Ottawa River islands, Gatineau Park and adjacent Gatineau city lands, two Gatineau regional county harvesting zones, the Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve, and the Baskatong Reservoir.

Whiteduck clarified the lawsuit, which seeks $5 billion in damages, targets only government-owned or managed lands, not private landowners.

City of Richmond SOUNDS ALARM on property rights over Cowichan ruling

The concern comes following Justice Barbara Young granting the Cowichan Nation title claim to about 7.5 square kilometers of Richmond, B.C. land, including fishing rights on that land.https://t.co/MB5BTig0hR

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 20, 2025

Similar concerns have emerged in First Nations across Canada, with other suits filed in British Columbia and Ontario.

On Friday, the City of Richmond, B.C., warned hundreds of property owners about a provincial Supreme Court ruling that could negatively affect their property titles. 

In August, Justice Barbara Young granted the Cowichan Nation title claim to approximately 7.5 square kilometres of land, encompassing federal and municipal properties, with associated fishing rights. The decision is suspended for 18 months while those affected sort out what the precedent means.

Aboriginal title gives Indigenous peoples constitutional ownership and jurisdictional rights over their unceded (stolen) territories, allowing them to decide land use. 

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie reported widespread unawareness among property owners regarding the ruling, which he considers one of the most significant in provincial and potentially national history. He believes it could dismantle the province's land title system with national implications, which prompted him to host an information session.

In her ruling, Young determined that a simple title doesn't automatically extinguish Indigenous rights, even when governments have sold or managed lands. 

The Cowichan Tribes were displaced from their ancestral summer fishing village on the Fraser River's south arm in the mid-1800s by the British and Canada's land sales after travelling from Vancouver Island.

Last month, Ontario's top court returned Sauble Beach land to the Saugeen First Nation in Ontario, dismissing appeals by landowners, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, and the province without providing a reason.

Ontario courts declared a 2.4-kilometre section of Sauble Beach, from Main Street to north of 6th Street North, as part of Saugeen First Nation's reserve. This ruling determined the reserve was improperly surveyed in 1855, meaning a portion of Sauble Beach currently owned by private landowners is actually part of the reserve.

This valuable First Nation fishing ground on Bruce Peninsula was surrendered in 1854 under Treaty 72, excluding reserves, to facilitate a free trade agreement with the U.S. for lumber.