Re: “Failure to protect private property will lead to crisis,” commentary, Jan. 24.

This commentary overstates both the novelty and the legal effect of the Cowichan Tribes decision.

The application of Aboriginal title to lands held in fee simple does not flow from any recent political choice by the provincial government, nor from UNDRIP, but from decades of judicial interpretation of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. That constitutional framework cannot be altered by provincial legislation.

At the same time, Canadian courts have shown little appetite for invalidating fee simple title held by private parties. Rather, the emerging jurisprudence points to governments — not homeowners — bearing responsibility for addressing outstanding Aboriginal title claims on private lands, whether through compensation, accommodation or other negotiated arrangements.

The real source of uncertainty is not legislative inaction, but the long-standing failure of governments to resolve land claims through negotiation. The most effective way to protect both Indigenous rights and private property is not from legislative posturing, but serious, durable agreements between governments and First Nations.

Certainty will come from negotiation, not from pretending that section 35 means something other than what the courts have consistently said it means.

Andrew Petter KC

Victoria

Donald Trump has just done a huge favour for Prime Minister Mark Carney by withdrawing his invitation to join his billion-dollar ego club.

There are many more important things to look after when Parliament gets back in session, and making Trump think that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize certainly isn’t one of them.

The United Nations, if it were functioning properly, should be able to do a much better job, but it needs a serious overhaul.

A good starting point would be the elimination of the Security Council, which gives veto power to a handful of countries like Russia. That allowed Vladimir Putin to ignore the majority of the members and proceed with his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Trump would love........

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