ALCOMDALE, Alta. – A tentative deal on a land claim between the Alexander First Nation Reserve and the federal government has raised fears about property values among surrounding landowners.
More than 120 landowners attended a Feb. 14 meeting in Alcomdale, about 55 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, to seek answers from federal, provincial and Alexander officials about the effect of the settlement on acreages and farms bordering the reserve. But most farmers and acreage owners left with more questions than answers, especially on the thorny issue of market values.
“Well, they answered our questions but I certainly didn’t like the way some of our questions were answered,” said Gus Kochling, whose Riviere Qui Barre farm sits just south of the reserve.
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Alexander recently agreed to a tentative settlement of its century-old entitlement claim, which is based on Indian agents missing 28 people in a 19th century census of the reserve. Because reserves were designed according to a formula that allocated 120 acres for each band member, Alexander wanted the shortfall, roughly 3,500 acres, plus compensation for the lack of use.
The proposed deal contains land and promises of future land:
- 5,000 acres of crown land near Fox Creek.
- 140 acres of crown land at Fort Assiniboine.
- 552 acres of land already purchased just south of the reserve.
- The ability to purchase 9,448 acres adjacent to the reserve.
The band receives $10.9 million under the tentative agreement. Ottawa pays $7 million and the province will chip in $3 million to buy the adjoining farmland north and east of the current 30,000 acre reserve. Ottawa will also pay $915,000 to cover Alexander’s expenses in the negotiations.
Band members must ratify the proposal before Ottawa, the province and Alexander finalize the deal.
Although the governments and Alexander will include a provision to forbid expropriation in the agreement, most people at the Feb. 14 meeting wanted assurances the band’s purchase of 9,448 acres of land near the reserve wouldn’t deflate property values.
St. Albert member of Parliament John Williams, who represents the area, sponsored the meeting after hearing fears about the proposed settlement.
“The rumors got started because the government had a policy of individual meetings, where there was different questions and different answers. When people tried to put two and two together, they couldn’t and started filling in the blanks,” said the Reform MP.
Because the reserve will be the only land buyer in the area, many landowners wanted a guarantee of fair market value for their farms and acreages.
Fear low prices
Williams said if the reserve begins buying land in the region, the landowners who sell late might be forced to sell for cheaper prices.
That scenario scares Mel Fundytus, an acreage owner who lives south of Alexander.
“My biggest concern is the devaluing of the land in the area,” Fundytus said. “There’s no guarantee the land values will remain the same.”
But reserve officials pledged to treat their neighbors fairly when they start individual negotiations to buy land.
“We have to be concerned what might happen down the road,” said Rene Paul, the Alexander First Nations Reserve negotiator for the land claim. “We want to come up with a benchmark of some sort (on land prices).”
And George Arcand Jr., the band’s administrator, said Alexander wants to continue its close relationship with its surrounding neighbors.
“Our intention is not to force or push people off their land. That happened to us,” Arcand said. “If people are willing to sell, we will buy.”
