The BC Supreme Court’s decision in Cowichan v. Canada has drawn national attention. For the first time, a Canadian court has granted a declaration of Aboriginal title over privately owned lands. …But at the same time, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal in J.D. Irving v. Wolastoqey Nation ruled that the private lands held by timber companies were not subject to declarations of Aboriginal title. …We need to understand each ruling to understand the trajectory of Canadian law’s engagement with reconciliation. It’s clear that the rulings in fact point in just one direction, because Cowichan can be sustained only by rewriting the Supreme Court’s settled doctrine of Aboriginal title, while Wolastoqey, with one severable modification, remains faithful to it. Of the two decisions, only Wolastoqey offers an approach that is legally sound and clear in its application. …Wolastoqey demonstrates that proven wrongs can be addressed through compensation and negotiation without unsettling land titles or distorting the doctrine of Aboriginal title; Cowichan does the opposite. [to access the full story a Globe & Mail subscription is required]