Rob Shaw: Government willing to make arguments in private meetings about Cowichan Nation ruling that elected officials are unwilling to say out loud

The contentious issue of the Cowichan Nation court ruling brought out all three faces of the B.C. NDP government on Tuesday: the one that talks tough behind closed doors, the one that equivocates to the media and the one that gaslights you by saying the opposite.

The day began with a briefing by government officials on what the province had argued in BC Supreme Court in August (unsuccessfully), before a justice awarded the Cowichan Nation a declaration of Aboriginal title on more than 800 acres of land in the City of Richmond.

The precedent-setting ruling placed Aboriginal title above private property rights and has put New Democrats on the defensive. More than 140 Richmond residents and businesses are now wondering if they actually own their properties the way they think they do, and many gathered Tuesday night for a fiery information session featuring the mayor and other elected officials.

Read online at Business in Vancouver: https://www.biv.com/news/commentary/rob-shaw-behind-closed-doors-bc-ndp-sounds-a-lot-different-on-aboriginal-title-11413668