“The Prime Minister says the government will defend private property rights in an appeal of the Cowichan court ruling. But the government did not defend private property rights during the trial. I want to know how he can claim to argue the opposite now.”

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims that the Liberal government protects private property rights and that it will appeal the Cowichan decision. Here is the problem: At trial, the Liberals dropped the argument that private property rights come first, making it easier for the trial judge to conclude that aboriginal title is a “prior and senior right to land.” How can the Prime Minister now say that the government will argue on appeal the very opposite, that private property rights come first, when they did not raise it at trial?”

“In 2018, the government chose not to defend private property rights in a court case. Now that case is on appeal. How will the Prime Minister protect people's property rights in Richmond when his lawyers cannot make that argument?”

“Mr. Speaker, in 2018, the Liberals and the NDP of British Columbia made a deliberate decision to instruct their lawyers not to defend private property rights in the Cowichan case. Now, years later, that same case is before the courts on appeal, and the government finds itself unable to make the very argument that Canadian homeowners expect, which is that their private property rights come first. How does the Prime Minister expect to win, on appeal, the protection of private property rights within the city of Richmond with an argument he is unable to make?”

“People are worried about their property rights after the Cowichan court decision. The Liberals say they will defend these rights in court now, but they did not do that at the trial. How can their lawyers make new arguments on appeal?”

“Mr. Speaker, the Cowichan decision has left many residents across our communities concerned about their private property rights. The Liberals are now talking about how they will defend property rights in court, but they never made this argument in Cowichan before. Appeals are not do overs. They cannot raise new arguments they never argued before. How will government lawyers argue what Liberals MPs are arguing here when they did not do so at trial?”