Protecting Private Property Rights

Petition to the House of Commons

We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House to the following:

1. That the Cowichan decision and subsequent Musqueam Agreement have generated significant uncertainty over private property rights;
2. That the right to private property is a fundamental and basic human right upon which our entire economy and society are built;
3. That fee simple landowners require absolute certainty when it comes to the ownership of their home and the title over their land;
4. That the uncertainty surrounding private property is having real economic effects, including fleeing investment, property devaluation, and increased difficulty, in some cases, to secure mortgages or to sell homes;
5. That new treaties are being signed, including the K’ómoks Treaty, that includes no overt protections of private property rights for landowners, fails to extinguish Aboriginal title over Crown and fee simple lands, and allows treaties to be re-opened and renegotiated in perpetuity.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to: explicitly protect private property rights in all new treaties and agreements with First Nations, repeal Litigation Guideline #14 that restricts federal lawyers from arguing that fee simple title takes priority over all other claims, and ensure all future treaty negotiations result in “full and final settlements” with First Nations that ensure finality and certainty for all Canadians.