Geoff Plant

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby should be praised, not criticized, for trying to reconcile Indigenous relations in light of court decisions, says former BC Liberal attorney general Geoff Plant. “The drumbeat of complaints… reveals a profound misunderstanding of Canadian law that supposes political ideology is the cause of the current state of legal affairs,” says Plant. “In reality, when it comes to questions of Indigenous claims and rights, it is the judges who have the last word, not politicians.” …“Courts always say negotiation is the better path to reconciliation. Regrettably, their decisions often have the opposite effect.” Plant doesn’t try to predict what the courts will do when they have the last word on the Eby government’s appeal of the Cowichan Tribes decision on private property or the attempt to rein in judicial use of the Declaration Act. But… I wouldn’t bet on the province emerging as the victor in either proceeding.