DO HOMEOWNERS OWN?

Countless claims for use and ownership of land have paralyzed our courts. To make current and prospective buyers aware of the uncertainties associated with occupancy and ownership, municipalities across the country have adopted disclaimers to remind them they may be buying or already living on unceded lands.

‘We acknowledge that we are occupying unceded lands’ is common language in those disclaimers. Exploring the concept of ceded land, we find that we cannot buy, own, or sell ceded land. As we continue to explore, we find we also cannot buy, own, or sell unceded land.

They both represent a nasty conflict with our well and long established ‘fee simple’ title system that has provided every single property owner in Canada with the security of ownership of the land that supports their homes, businesses, and industries for literally centuries.

City councillors in Victoria are considering collecting taxes from occupants as ‘rent’ on unceded lands, and giving it to Indigenous people who provide no infrastructure or services to the city.

B.C. Premier John Horgan has arbitrarily assigned veto powers to the UNDRIP protocol, failing to recognize it’s the tribal-colonial community title that will continue to deny the Indigenous people ‘fee simple’ title and ownership of the land their homes are built on, and equity to invest in a business. Veto powers will not change that.

Land and homeowners need to know which title system will apply to all Canadian lands.

Andy Thomsen, Kelowna