New Brunswick Urges Exclusion of Thousands of Land Owners from Indigenous Title Claim

The New Brunswick government is taking steps to safeguard private property owners from a land claim by the Wolastoqey Nation that aims to acquire ownership of over 60 percent of the province.

Last week, the provincial government filed a motion in the Court of King’s Bench to exempt 250,000 homeowners and businesses from the Wolastoqey Nation’s land claim, in the event that it is successful.

Premier Blaine Higgs argues that the public statements made by the Wolastoqey chiefs, assuring that their claim will not impact private landowners, do not correspond adequately with the legal documents filed by the First Nation in court.

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However, Wolastoqey Nation lawyer Renee Pelletier asserts that the six chiefs of the nation have consistently stated in public and in court filings that they have no intention of displacing individuals or impacting their property rights.

In 2020, the Wolastoqey Nation filed a land claim seeking ownership of over 50,000 square kilometers of the province, which they consider to be their traditional lands.

In 2021, the nation updated the lawsuit to demand compensation from corporations operating on approximately 20 percent of the claimed land, as well as from the Crown for authorizing the development.