12 December 2010

Deal Would Give Native Band Over
$50 Million in Land Dispute

Bassano Alberta - Ottawa and the Alberta government together are poised to pay the Siksika First Nation more than $50 million and give the band new water rights in an agreement that moves toward settling a century-old dispute over the land used to build the Bassano Dam.
 
"The land was sold illegally by Canada in 1910 and we've never seen any benefits," said Siksika land claims manager Joe Weasel Child.
 
"So now we've put ourselves in a position where we should have been in 1910. It's taken us 100 years to resolve this matter," he said, adding the new agreement is "a win-win solution for everybody."
 
Band members gave the plan more than 80 percent support in a referendum last June. The province has also signed off on the agreement alongside the Eastern Irrigation District, which owns and operates the Bassano Dam. The federal government has yet to ratify the deal.
 
Officials are hesitant to reveal all before Ottawa signs and as negotiations on other issues continue. However, federal officials said there are also provisions within the proposed final agreement that address land issues specifically.
 
"The main thing is getting the land under the Siksika title," Weasel Child said, without further details.
 
The issue dates back to 1910, when Canada transferred Siksika reserve land to the Canadian Pacific Railway to build the Bassano Dam on the Bow River. In 1935, land was transferred from the railway to the Eastern Irrigation District.
 
In 1980, federal officials acknowledged there was no historic proof CPR had actually acquired rights to the land before beginning construction on the Bassano Dam.
 
Three years later, then Blackfoot Chief Roy Littlechief announced the band would launch a suit against Ottawa, the federal government, and what was then known as CP Rail because the band never granted permission for construction of the dam.
 
The lawsuit was eventually set aside in favour of negotiations.
 
A $4.9 million mineral claims agreement between the band and Ottawa was signed in 1991, compensating specifically for mineral rights lost when dam construction destroyed 945 hectares of land.
 
From the Alberta government's vantage point, the new agreement is about irrigation water continuing to flow. All the water in the district's irrigation system comes through the Bassano Dam, located just southwest of the town. Water is supplied to 1,200 farmers and 22,500 people in the area.
 
The Alberta government will pay the band $22 million for discontinuance of legal action, and pre-payment for a number of annual payments for use, like a lease, of the dam lands. The deal to be signed allows the Eastern Irrigation District to continue to use the Bassano Dam infrastructure with certainty for years to come.
 
"The agreement rights a historical wrong that came out in 1910 with the federal government taking the land for the creation of the dam. It secures a water supply for the Siksika and other Albertans who benefit from the dam," Alberta Environment spokesman Chris Bourdeau said.
 
No official from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada was available for an interview. However, spokeswoman Genevieve Guibert confirmed through an email the federal government is poised to pay the band more than $31 million for past loss of use of the land and legal costs.
 
"The next and final step is for Canada to complete its own internal ratification process," said the email. "While this process is moving forward it does take time."
 
The statement said the government is committed to resolving specific First Nations claims for the benefit of all Canadians.
 
"Claim settlements honour legal obligations and right past wrongs. They are about justice, respect, and reconciliation."
 
Kelly Cryderman.