British Columbians who bought their homes in good faith, paid their mortgages, and followed every rule are now facing a question the provincial government cannot answer: is their property actually theirs?

That's not hyperbole. It's the documented legal consequence of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act — DRIPA — the sweeping reconciliation law passed in 2019 by the NDP government. The law's architect, as Attorney General at the time, was David Eby. The Premier struggling to contain the fallout today is the same man.

The Cowichan Ruling: $2.5 Billion, 324 Hectares, 150+ Families

In a ruling that received far less attention than it deserved, the BC Supreme Court granted Aboriginal title to the Cowichan First Nation over more than 324 hectares of land in Richmond — land valued at approximately $2.5 billion.

The court ruled that where Aboriginal title is determined to exist, it is "prior and senior" to other property interests. That single phrase has left more than 150 homeowners and property holders in Richmond facing legal uncertainty about the land beneath their homes — land they legally purchased, in many cases decades ago.

DRIPA's Growing Property Rights Toll

  • Cowichan Nation Aboriginal title: 324 hectares in Richmond, valued at $2.5 billion
  • 150+ property owners in Richmond facing title uncertainty
  • Haida Gwaii: Government granted Haida title over the entire island — roughly half the population is non-Haida
  • Mineral Tenure Act: BC Court of Appeal ruled it violates DRIPA (Gitxaała case)
  • 20+ additional lawsuits against the province amended after the Gitxaała decision
  • DRIPA requires "free, prior and informed consent" — no mechanism for private property holders

Tegan Hill, an economist with the Fraser Institute, published a detailed analysis in the Vancouver Sun laying out the scope of the problem. DRIPA requires the provincial government to bring all provincial laws into alignment with the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) — which includes the right of Indigenous peoples to "use, own, develop and control" their traditional territories.

The problem is straightforward: nobody knows where that right ends and where a private homeowner's right begins. And the NDP government — which created this ambiguity — has no answer.

Haida Gwaii: When Half a Population Loses Certainty

In 2024, the Eby government granted the Haida Nation Aboriginal title over all of Haida Gwaii. Approximately half of the island's residents are non-Haida British Columbians who own property there. The bilateral deal includes language that private property rights "must be honoured" — but legal experts note that private property rights are fundamentally incompatible with Aboriginal title, which is "prior and senior" to all other interests.

"DRIPA is a key factor fuelling uncertainty over property rights in B.C. To strengthen the economy, David Eby should help restore stability and repeal this legislation."

— Tegan Hill, Economist, Fraser Institute / Vancouver Sun, April 2026

What does "must be honoured" mean in practice when the title over that land is constitutionally superior? The government hasn't said. It has signed agreements, made promises, and issued press releases — but the legal framework underlying thousands of BC homeowners' most valuable asset remains unresolved.

Eby Drafted It. Eby Can't Fix It.

There is an uncomfortable irony at the centre of this crisis. David Eby, as BC's Attorney General in 2019, drafted the interpretation memo that tied the provincial government to DRIPA. He championed it as a historic step in reconciliation. He has described it as one of the most important laws his government has passed.

Now, as Premier, Eby has tried to amend DRIPA, then tried to suspend it, then backed away from both — after 10 of his own MLAs revolted and First Nations leaders erupted in anger. In April 2026 he announced he would seek "agreement" on changes to DRIPA by the fall legislative session, calling it "the most challenging issue I've worked on in government."

The mess Eby built in 2019 he cannot clean up in 2026. In the meantime, 150 Richmond families don't know what their property is worth. Haida Gwaii residents don't know what their deed means. Mineral claim holders across the province have been thrown into litigation. And the government's only answer is: wait until fall.

The Economic Cost Nobody Is Counting

Property rights aren't just a legal abstraction. They are the foundation of investment, lending, insurance, and economic planning throughout BC. When title to land is uncertain, banks become cautious about mortgages. Developers pause projects. Investors redirect capital. The consequence is a slower economy in a province that is already struggling under a $13.3-billion deficit and punishing US tariffs on its resource sector.

The Gitxaała court ruling — which found that the province's reformed Mineral Tenure Act violated DRIPA — has already triggered more than 20 additional lawsuits against the Crown. Every major land-use decision in BC now carries legal risk that didn't exist before 2019, created by the same government that is now unable to resolve it.

The Premier who wrote this problem has spent six years in government and cannot find a path forward that satisfies his own caucus, First Nations leadership, and the 150+ Richmond families who just want to know if their homes are theirs.

The answer, as of May 1, 2026, is: maybe. Ask again in the fall.