Stafford Bradley Armstrong, KC, has prepared a comprehensive report for the Fraser Institute, titled: Crown Title and Aboriginal Rights in British Columbia.
- – The settled law since the 1880s confirmed that title to the lands in Canada was held by the Crown. Indian Nations were recognized as having rights to the use of their hunting grounds for hunting, fishing, and trapping (not ownership).
- – Treaties confirmed Crown title to the lands, protected villages through reserves, and confirmed rights of hunting, fishing, and trapping on Crown lands, except lands granted for settlement or development. This was reconciliation between Crown title and aboriginal rights.
– The same reconciliation was established in the non-treaty areas of British Columbia. Existing village sites were protected as reserves, and rights of hunting, fishing, and trapping on unoccupied Crown lands continue to be recognized.
– In Delgamuukw (1997) and Tsilhqot’in (2014), the Supreme Court of Canada declared that the Court would grant title (ownership) to an Indian Nation if it can establish use of a territory by its ancestors for hunting or other traditional activities as of 1846. This is a radical departure from the established law, including judicial rulings that courts do not have jurisdiction to declare land titles not recognized in law by the Crown or government. By freezing the test for occupancy in 1846, the court decisions ignore the binding legislative, constitutional, and judicial history since that date, and the authorized settlement and development of the lands.
– This study provides a legal history and analysis of the law on the question of Crown title and aboriginal rights in British Columbia and questions the departure from the established legal principles.
Read the summary online at: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/crown-title-and-aboriginal-rights-in-british-columbia
Or download the full report here: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2026-09/crown-title-and-aboriginal-rights-in-british-columbia.pdf