Now that Aboriginal land rights part of B.C. law, the economy’s foundation is no longer secure.

David Eby’s government in British Columbia is reeling after two recent court decisions put private property rights in jeopardy.

In August, the B.C. Supreme Court’s Cowichan Tribes decision declared that titles to certain properties in the city of Richmond are “defective and invalid.” Adding to Eby’s headache is the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Gitxaala v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner), which held that every law and regulation in B.C. must align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Among other things, UNDRIP refers to “the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples” and “especially their rights to their lands.” Essentially, a United Nations document has suddenly become a second constitution.

Feigning shock, Eby declared last week that he will “go to the wall” to protect the rights of affected Richmond property owners. The province is now talking about offering loan guarantees to homeowners if banks won’t refinance mortgages or buyers can’t secure financing. But these are band-aid solutions that don’t solve the fundamental issue.

More than the rights of the Richmond property holders are at stake. Most of B.C. is not covered by treaties, so land claims will continue to come forward. Many more B.C. property owners could be affected. In fact, it’s an even bigger problem than that. Private property held in fee simple is the basis of our economy and our standard of living. Property rights also buttress the basic freedoms we take for granted as citizens of a constitutional democracy.

Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto describes private property as one of the most remarkable achievements of the West. Keen to promote prosperity and freedom in Peru and other parts of the developing world in the early 2000s, de Soto started investigating why market economies worked so well in the West but not in developing countries. The missing ingredient, he argued in a 2001 paper, was the lack of a formal system of secure, private property title.

Read the full story: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/david-livingstone-ebys-failure-to-protect-private-property-will-lead-to-financial-crisis