City wins squatter’s rights case in Supreme Court
By John Boivin Local Journalism Initiative
The City of Nelson has won a land dispute that went to the highest court in the country.
The Supreme Court of Canada found that a Nelson couple didn’t have squatter’s rights to a lot they purchased nearly 25 years ago on Beatty Avenue, in the Fairview area of Nelson near the Big Orange Bridge.
Earl and Gerry Mowatt claimed they owned the 18-metre x 14-metre lot at 1114 Beatty Ave. through adverse possession, as a series of squatters had lived on the property continuously since 1909. On paper however, the property is Crown land.
