Montrose appeals refusal to reopen Cowichan Aboriginal title case

Montrose Properties has appealed a B.C. Supreme Court decision denying its request to become a party in the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title case and to reopen part of the long-running trial.

The Richmond-based developer is challenging Justice Barbara Young’s June 29, 2026 decision. Young presided over the 513-day trial, which began in 2019 and ended with an August 2025 ruling on Aboriginal title in southeast Richmond.

Montrose says about 300 acres of its privately owned land fall within roughly 740 acres found by the court to be subject to Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title. The ruling did not invalidate the company’s registered ownership, but found its fee-simple interests might not be exercisable in their fullest form and described Aboriginal title as a senior and prior interest.

The company sought to file limited submissions and evidence on the effect of the ruling on its ownership rights, financing, land use and regulatory obligations. It said it did not seek to retry the underlying title claim. Montrose owns industrial and former landfill lands near Blundell Road, including more than 1.3 million square feet of redeveloped industrial space.

Young dismissed the application as an abuse of process for relitigation. In her reasons, she said allowing parties to seek joinder after a judgment could encourage a wait-and-see approach and prolong litigation. The judge said Montrose knew of the proceeding years earlier but did not seek to join until after the trial ended.

Montrose’s appeal is separate from appeals of the 2025 title ruling by existing parties, including the federal and provincial governments, City of Richmond, Musqueam First Nation and Tsawwassen First Nation. The developer has not publicly set out detailed grounds for its appeal.