An Alberta consultant is going to court in January for working without a licence as a farmer’s advocate when dealing with energy companies.
In Alberta, a person must be a licensed land agent to be able to negotiate with a landowner for certain surface or right of way agreements such as drilling and mining operations, laying of pipelines, power lines or road construction.
A person must also be licensed if he charges a fee for providing advice to an owner about negotiations for an interest in land.
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“We want this issue to come to court so landowners can be aware of the absolute precedence that is going to follow this thing if the government gets away with it and we lose this case,” said Ray Strome. He owns Landcorp, a consulting company based in Two Hills, Alta.
Land agents’ certification is under review to strengthen qualifications and widen the list of who should be licensed when dealing with surface and mineral rights leases.
Strome’s service provides landowners with outside experts including engineers, hydrologists and lawyers. He also uses Alberta Research Council scientists to help develop lease clauses on air, water and soil care.
The company does not sign documents or make decisions on a client’s behalf.
Strome argues energy and utility companies have a number of experts at their disposal during complicated negotiations, while the landowner is often alone.
“The oil company stacks up all these experts who are not licensed land agents to deal with the landowners’ concerns. They are all on the payroll,” he said.
Landowners are pressured to sign agreements and often need advice to protect their interests.
“This isn’t a battle for our company, this is a battle for our property rights,” said Strome about the court case.
Protecting people’s rights is what the new licensing arrangements are designed to do, said Terry O’Connor, director with the Canadian Petroleum Association of Landmen.
The association representing about 1,400 licensed land agents wants a new standard in place next year to raise professional and ethical standards.
The proposals are under review by the land agents association, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and other smaller interest groups.
There is a two year program at Olds College to teach agents the energy and agriculture industries’ points of view, but they still must pass examinations and accompany a certified person on 15 negotiations before they are licensed.
O’Connor said he has no problem with consultants offering a service to farmers, but they should be licensed to guarantee their work.
“The guys without licences are causing a lot of grief for us because they don’t really know what they are doing,” he said.
“We want to have people understand what both sides are about. If you are not licensed, you do not know what the ethics are and you don’t know what you have to speak to the farmer about,” O’Connor said.
People looking for advice can hire a lawyer familiar with oil and gas regulations or call the landmen’s association.
Perry Nelson of the Alberta Surface Rights Federation said there is concern over the implications of a strengthened licensing requirement.
Certification is difficult to obtain, especially for those who want to advocate for landowners.
Nelson said regulations should allow advocates so that qualified people are involved in negotiations, but they should not necessarily be a land agent.
“For someone starting out from scratch, it is quite a learning curve,” he said.
The industry, regulations and contract details can be confusing for laymen. Contracts are not standard and most people do not understand them well enough to ask questions and make informed decisions, he said.
“They should have someone who they can turn to and lead them by the hand,” Nelson said.
Licensed land agent and private consultant Ken Miklos understands the controversy.
“People should be free to chose whoever they want to represent themselves,” said the owner of Woodland Resources Ltd.
Miklos recommended asking if the person is licensed and can provide references. Landowners need professional advice when signing agreements to protect their interests in a highly specialized field, he said.
“A lot of companies don’t like dealing with those folks. Somebody who is licensed has a fairly good idea of how the industry works, the contracts, they operate at a higher level,” he said.
When a company has decided to drill, there is pressure on the land agents to meet corporate directives and the landowner feels pressured to sign.
“Land agents that are acting on behalf of the oil industry are often (assessed) by their ability to produce product,” he said.
As drilling activity increases, there will be a need for more creative solutions to resolve conflicts between companies and landowners so both are satisfied, he said.
