Grazing leases and disgruntlement seem to go hand in hand in Alberta.
Lessees argue their leases are legitimate contracts that would stand up
in court if anyone challenged their right to restrict the access of
energy companies or the public.
While some lessees want the province to rescind the controversial Bill
31, others are not convinced that is the best route.
Greg Conn, past-chair of the Alberta Beef Producers, said he
doesn’t agree with everything the government put forward in the
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Agricultural Dispositions Statutes Amendment Act passed in 1999.
However, cattle producers cannot walk away from the negotiating table
or they could be excluded from writing acceptable regulations.
“If we take a hard line and say ‘this is our only position,’ we will
lose in the end,” Conn said.
“We don’t agree with everything that has gone on so far in the
discussion, but we have been part of it and we have been able to make a
lot of gains on behalf of producers,” he said. “We have worked hard to
get a number of amendments, many more than we thought we could.”
Karen Gordon of Hanna is part of a committee invited to examine the
bill.
“We should continue to work with this government because they have the
ability to change things,” she said.
Another committee member, Tom Livingston, said Bill 31 was
unsatisfactory to producers and needs to be dealt with one issue at a
time. The act should not be thrown out because ranchers could lose
their right to control lease land access entirely.
“If you give up the right to control access, you are not going to get
it back,” he said.
The province’s standing policy committee on agriculture turned down the
most recent version of Bill 31 because the issue of compensation for
third party damages was not satisfactory. The bill has been passed but
not yet proclaimed.
“The absolute right to deny seismic activity is not there, but there
are many recourses if you have concerns over environment that could
restrict what is done,” said Conn.
The government committee will look at the bill again Jan. 27.
Delegates at the beef producers meeting expressed their disappointment
with the bill and passed a resolution saying it should be rescinded.
Joan Hughson of Foremost said losing compensation for seismic activity
is a serious issue for leaseholders.
“We need to be compensated fairly for seismic activity and (have the)
right to control access to recreationists,” she said. “We need to stand
up for our rights on this. It is a violation of our property rights and
we need to make a firm stand.”
