First Nation lawsuit claims private island worth a cool $54 million

A First Nation near Victoria is claiming ownership rights to the most valuable private island in British Columbia.

The TsawoutFirst Nation fileda civil lawsuit inB.C. Supreme Court this month seeking title toJames Island, a 400-acre propertyjust off Island View Beach near Victoria.

James Island, which is owned by Seattle Billionaire Craig McCaw's company, JI Properties, was assessed at a valueof $54.4 million in 2017, according to the B.C. Assessment Authority. It features a main residence, about six guest homes, an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and a private airstrip.

"What we're seeking among other things is a declaration that James Island ought to have been set aside as a reserve for the First Nation,"John Gailus,the lawyer for the Tsawout First Nation, told On the Island host Gregor Craigie.

The lawsuit asks the court to order the governments of Canada and British Columbia to return ownership of the Island to the Tsawout and pay compensation to JI Properties.

Gailussaid the lawsuit claimsthe island was illegally taken from theTsawoutnation's predecessors,theSaanichtribe, contrary to the terms ofthe treaty they signedwithVancouver Island's then governor, Sir James Douglas, in 1852.

The treaty promisedthat village sites and enclosed fields would be set aside as reserves, and Gailus said he believes the Tsawoutcan prove James Island, or part of it, was a village site.

If the court does not recognizeJames Island as a Tsawout village site, hesaid, the lawsuitalso claims aboriginal title as defined in the 2014 Tsilqot'incase, whichrecognizedIndigenousrights and title of a semi-nomadic tribe to traditional landsused seasonally.

Gailusnoted thattheTsawoutFirstNation's rights under theSaanichTreaty wereupheld in an earlier lawsuit in the 1980s that blocked a marina development in the traditional fishing area of SaanichtonBay.

The current lawsuitalso claims damagesfor loss of use ofJamesIsland.

"It would be a lot because we're talking about going back to the1870sand moving forward,"Gailussaid.

"So it might be a very small sum when you begin, but any economist will tell you when you start compounding the interest over time, it's a lot of money."

While the lawsuit is likely to take years to reach the trial stage, Gailus said a negotiated settlement is always possible, particularly since James Island was for saleseveral years ago.

With files from CBC Radio One's On the Island