Port Coquitlam issues proactive statement about defending publicly-owned lands from claims

The City of Port Coquitlam says it is committed to defending public ownership of its municipal land while a First Nation’s claim on several properties in the region has been suspended.

In a post to social media, the city stated its position in reference to a 2016 claim by the Kwikwetlem First Nation that reportedly identified portions of land owned by the province, Metro Vancouver, and the city.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West says the statement comes amid increased attention on land claims.

“We’ve had the Richmond-Cowichan decision, which has generated a number of inquiries to the city from residents with respect to the status of the claim in Port Coquitlam. And the other thing is we really don’t have local media coverage anymore in Port Coquitlam, having lost our community newspapers, that, in the past, would report on this pretty regularly through coverage of our council meetings,” West told 1130 NewsRadio.

A B.C. Supreme Court decision in August granted Cowichan Tribes the rights to nearly eight kilometres of land along the Fraser River in Richmond — and also found Crown and city land titles in that area invalid — sparking uncertainty for nearly 150 private property owners caught in the zone and the future of fee simple land ownership across the province.

“We thought it was important to be proactive and be transparent and to provide residents with an update on the status of the [2016] land claim,” said West.

“And also to, very importantly, let people know that there’s no private property associated with this land claim, because that has been the dominant question the city has received from residents. ‘Is my property impacted?’”

The city says it will continue to closely monitor the Cowichan land claim proceedings and any related developments, and will “protect public and private property rights within its jurisdiction.”

This is a developing story. More to come.

—With files from Dean Recksiedler and Michael Williams