Some B.C. appraisers adding land-claims clause after Aboriginal title court case

Some property appraisers are now adding special language to their work in the wake of the Cowichan Tribes land title case.

VICTORIA — An organization representing about 1,200 appraisers in British Columbia says some of its members are adding clauses to their reports noting that current, past, and potential future land claims have not been considered in their valuations.

Allan Beatty, president of the B.C. branch of the Appraisal Institute of Canada, says in a statement that the recent Cowichan Aboriginal title court ruling in B.C. is contributing to speculation that private property rights could be affected.

Beatty says the organization is preparing advice for its members on the appropriate limitation clauses, but discourages the use of “unsubstantiated adjustments that do not reflect the most relevant market data.”

In an August 2025 ruling, a B.C. Supreme Court judge confirmed the Cowichan Tribes hold Aboriginal title over about 300 hectares of land on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C.

The Cowichan Tribes did not seek to have private titles invalidated, but the ruling says it creates precedent that sections of law establishing private fee-simple ownership as indefeasible do not apply to Aboriginal title.

The provincial government and the Cowichan have begun negotiations on the claim even as the original decision is being appealed.

Beatty says up-to-date market data is the most effective way to incorporate all relevant influences on value of a property.

“Additional court rulings on this topic are expected to continue to shape markets throughout B.C. and beyond,” he says.

“(The institute) is confident that its members, as the professionals of choice in real estate valuation and consulting, will continue to adapt to the dynamic nature of real property markets and provide appropriate advice to all stakeholders.”

B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations Spencer Chandra Herbert said Thursday that the government’s position is that it is not negotiating private property unless there’s a willing seller and a willing buyer.

“I think nations actually have been quite vocal recently to be clear that they’re not coming after people’s private property, that’s not their intention, and that we all have to live here together,” he said.

“Certainly they don’t want to do to people what was done to them, where they were evicted from villages, had villages burned down and things like that.”

B.C. Conservative MLA Scott McInnes said there needs to be clarity.

“We need a path forward here for private property in this province, because people are scared” he said.

This report by Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press, was first published March 12, 2026.

With files from Wolfgang Depner in Victoria