The City of Port Coquitlam is informing and aiming to reassure residents and other private property owners that public and private property rights will remain protected, as a land claim involving the Kwikwetlem First Nation is currently going through a provincially-led process.
As it turns out, like the other First Nations court cases that were daylighted in recent months, the Kwikwetlem claim has been going through the legal process for a decade.
According to the municipal government, the litigation process is currently in a state of “abeyance,” which means the court case is temporarily paused, as a negotiation process led by the provincial government is currently occurring outside of the court setting.
The land claim area by the Kwikwetlem notably entails the entirety of the 244-acre former Riverview Hospital site and the 59-acre Colony Farm Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, which are owned by the provincial government.
They are seeking to claim the adjacent 700-acre ƛ̓éxətəm Regional Park, which is owned by Metro Vancouver Regional District and was previously known as Colony Farm Regional Park up until 2023.
Additionally, the First Nation is also seeking Aboriginal title over several major properties owned by the City of Port Coquitlam, specifically the 37-acre Gates Park — one of the city’s most heavily used sports and recreation sites, and where a new soccer training hub had been planned but was downsized earlier this year due to rising costs — and multiple undeveloped lots collectively known as South Shaughnessy.
Read the article at Daily Hive for full details: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/port-coquitlam-kwikwetlam-first-nation-aboriginal-title-land-claim