🏠 Land rights

Good morning! 🖨️ Need new student housing? Just print it. The University of Windsor has begun building Canada’s first multi-storey, net-zero student residence using on-site 3D printers. Once complete, the project will also serve as a “living laboratory” for engineering research, showcasing how 3D printing can make construction faster, cheaper, and more sustainable.

⏰ Today’s read: 6 minutes

MARKETS

Economy: Canadian consumer insolvencies have surged to levels not seen since the financial crisis, with new data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy showing 12,668 filings in September, up 10.6% from a year earlier and the highest September total since 2009. Over the 12 months ending in September, there were 139,335 insolvency filings, a 2.9% annual increase and also the biggest September tally since 2009, signalling that a brief summer slowdown has given way to renewed acceleration.

AWARDS

Site Service Awards: Just 2 days remain to nominate

Quick! The window to be included in Canadian construction’s next big awards program is nearly closed. Only 2 days are left to nominate your peers for Site Service Awards. We are looking for excellent individuals who go above and beyond. Maybe it's a visionary designer shaping the skylines of tomorrow, an engineer who uncovers new ways to build smarter, or a tech innovator driving the industry into the future. If that sounds like someone on your team, nominate them today using the link below (before it’s too late).

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🏗️ Round two: The federal government has unveiled a second round of “nation-building” projects under the new Major Projects Office (MPO), adding more than $56 billion in work and bringing the total value of projects referred to the office to over $116 billion. The announcement puts a major focus on Northwest B.C., the Yukon and Nunavut, including the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, the North Coast Transmission Line to support projects like Ksi Lisims LNG, and Nunavut’s first fully Inuit-owned hydro project in Iqaluit.

🚃Linked up: The long-awaited Deux-Montagnes branch of Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) has officially opened, seven years after work on the broader light-rail network began, adding 14 new stations between downtown’s McGill hub and Deux-Montagnes on the North Shore. The new automated, electric line replaces and upgrades the old Exo commuter rail corridor, with rebuilt, grade-separated stations and frequent driverless service that now links Brossard on the South Shore through downtown and up to the North Shore.

⚓Port support: Manitoba is committing $51 million to upgrade the Hudson Bay Railway as part of renewed efforts to unlock the potential of the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. The money will fund engineering work needed to bring the northern rail line up to Class I standard so it can handle heavier freight, a key step if the port is ever to see major expansion. 

🌿 Net zero guide: The City of Toronto has released its Net Zero Building Retrofit Guides, developed with Arup, to help drive building emissions down in support of the city’s 2040 net zero target. The guides turn high-level climate goals into practical retrofit pathways for a wide range of building types, outlining strategies in four main categories: load reduction, electrification, advanced controls, and renewable energy and storage.

THE BIG STORY

Are land rights dying in B.C. and beyond?

One of Canada’s longest trials has wrapped up but the aftershocks of the judge’s decision continue to shake the foundations of property rights, home ownership and land development in the province and beyond.

What happened: After a lengthy trial, The B.C. Supreme Court recognized that the Cowichan Nation holds Aboriginal title to lands at Tl’uqtinus on the Fraser River in Richmond and held that this title continues to exist even where the Crown later granted fee simple interests over the same land.

The key question: Can privately-owned land (fee simple title) exist with Aboriginal title? Naysayers, like attorney Thomas Isaacs  argue the answer is clearly ‘no’ and the judgement creates a massive contradiction in Canadian law where Aboriginal title and fee simple are absolute but also exist on the same land. 

What developers say: Conwest Development’s COO Ben Taddei says the uncertainty the ruling has created is the top issue for the entire property sector, which is predicated on a known, historical land rights system where private property rights are known, predictable and reliable. 

“People investing capital, whether it be a homeowner buying a $500,000 condo or a major international corporation investing tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in resource projects or infrastructure, need certainty of tenure.”

A path forward: Indigenous law expert Merle Alexander told SiteNews that changes to the Land Title Act or devel may need to be made and the longstanding issue of Indigenous land rights must continue to be sorted out. But stressed that the case is unique and will have far less impact if negotiated like the court intended. 

Coexistence: Alexander rejected claims that both rights couldn’t exist in harmony. He cited the 2024 Haida Nation “Rising Tide” Haida Title Lands Agreement as a perfect example of how to proceed. The deal formally recognized Haida Aboriginal title over the terrestrial lands of Haida Gwaii while setting out how private fee simple property will continue. 

Check out our in-depth coverage of this issue in the link below to learn more.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Brown to green

Biidaasige Park on Toronto’s Port Lands was named Best Overall Project at the 2025 Brownie Awards, recognizing it as a standout example of brownfield redevelopment. Built as the public face of the $1.4-billion Don Mouth Naturalization and Port Lands Flood Protection project, the 20-hectare park transforms a former industrial site into the city’s largest new green space in a generation. Led by Waterfront Toronto with funding from all three levels of government, and the landscape and river corridor were designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and a broader team.

PROJECT UPDATES

B.C. fast-tracks rebuild of burned school

Ottawa mulls options to reopen sledding hill

Mount Dennis station opens for GO and UP Express service

TMU reveals plans for 21-storey student residence 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

🎙️ PODCAST: Historic 3D-printed project underway 

👷🏻‍♀️ READ: Modular Lessons from Sweden

🚘 VIDEO: Car smashes through Saskatoon Home Hardware

🏆 AWARDS: Brownie award winners celebrated

🏗️ VIDEO: Burnaby bridge gets a lift

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

Disclaimer: SiteNews is an independently-operated news website. Views expressed are that of the editorial team and are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted through sponsored content.