Mr. Speaker, private property rights are fundamental and our government will always defend them.
We disagree with the B.C. Supreme Court's ruling in the Cowichan case, and we appealed it back in September. Any agreement on aboriginal title at the federal level has always and will always protect private property. The federal government has been signing agreements with first nations since the 1970s. No agreement between the federal government and first nations has ever led to Canadians losing their privately owned land. Our government will continue to advance reconciliation and protect the private property rights of Canadians.