Richmond Mayor admits legal risks of land acknowledgments, B.C. Attorney General calls risk unrelated

With Aboriginal title now granted over private lands in Richmond, B.C.’s top lawyer, Niki Sharma, the official expected to defend property rights refuses to confront the legal risks of land acknowledgments.

Drea Humphrey
  |   October 29, 2025   |   News Analysis   |   2 Comments

At a public information session last night on the fallout from the Cowichan Tribes v. Canada decision, the first to grant Aboriginal title over private land in Richmond, a revealing contrast emerged when I questioned both B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie about the legal risks tied to land-acknowledgment mantras.

Brodie, whose city now sits at the centre of a historic land title upheaval, didn’t deny the risks. When asked why Richmond refuses to perform the “unceded territory” acknowledgments many governments recite before official meetings, he was clear. “The reason that we don’t do a land acknowledgment is mostly about the lawsuit by the Musqueam over the Garden City Lands. That’s the biggest factor. This case (Cowichan Tribes v. Canada) was a factor as well,” Brodie told Rebel News. The recent ruling which was handed down in August and now under appeal, shocked landowners by recognising Aboriginal title over private property within city limits.

Mayor Brodie’s remarks regarding land acknowledgments echo what he told media as far back as 2021, when Musqueam representatives backed by CBC coverage pressured the city to start performing land acknowledgments, using the false 215 unmarked residential school graves “discovery” claim from the Kamloops First Nation as leverage to do so.

While Brodie continues to treat those risks as a serious legal matter, Attorney General Niki Sharma, the province’s top lawyer tasked with defending landowners whose private property is now caught in the crossfire, brushed them off entirely. Sharma first deflected, and then dismissed Rebel News question regarding legal implications governments declaring B.C. “unceded” territory outright.

“I think I want to say very clearly that the work of reconciliation is very important,” Sharma replied. “We work with First Nations across this province and we work with cities and we work with people across this province to lift all votes, to come up with resolutions to sort through past wrongs and move forward in a way that respects all people.”

When pressed further on what she’d say to Indigenous people who also oppose land acknowledgments due to their belief they are empty gestures, since no one truly wants to surrender their land, Sharma stated “I think this is a question that is a little bit not related to the issue that we are speaking today. But I will say that it’s our position as a government that reconciliation is an important part of the work of the province, and I think that all British Columbians expect us to sit down at the table together and try to resolve issues that are important to them.”

Earlier this month, Sahrma, her NDP colleagues, along with all but two B.C. Conservative MLAs, voted down One B.C. Party Leader Dallas Brodie’s private member’s bill which sought to stop public servants from performing compelled land acknowledgments that deny B.C.’s sovereignty.

A full report breaking down the information from the session and the concerned owners response to what this ruling means to them is coming soon at StopUNDRIP.com.

Stop UNDRIP!

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Take a stand against Premier David Eby’s dangerous DRIPA legislation, which makes the UN’s radical UNDRIP framework legally binding in B.C. This law hands unprecedented veto powers over local decision-making to First Nations, threatening property rights, development, and community autonomy.

 

Drea Humphrey

B.C. Bureau Chief

Based in British Columbia, Drea Humphrey reports on Western Canada for Rebel News. Drea’s reporting is not afraid to challenge political correctness, or ask the tough questions that mainstream media tends to avoid.

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-10-29 21:12:04 -0400
    Berhard is right. I remember how Jericho Hill School was run remotely from Victoria and the wrong people were left to look after us children. My Deliverance from Jericho chronicles just a few of the bone-head moves of those where supposed to supervise us.
  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2025-10-29 20:36:59 -0400
    It doesn’t worry the Dippers in Victoria because it’s not in their back yard, so to speak. Then again, that’s typical of how B. C. is run. The attitude is whatever’s good for Lotusland must and will be good for the rest of the province, regardless of consequences or practicality.

    And people wondered why I didn’t want to move into the house in B. C. that I inherited…..