An Alberta court case could change the way landowners are dealt with by oil companies that want to drill a well or dig a pipeline.
Under Alberta law, only licensed land agents can negotiate between energy companies and landowners. Alberta has about 1,600 licensed agents, and all but five to 10 work for energy companies.
Ray Strom was in a Vegreville, Alta., provincial court Jan. 4 and 5, accused of acting as a land agent and accepting money for advising farmers in their negotiations with energy companies between October 2002 and November 2003. Strom is not licensed as a land agent.
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“If Ray is found guilty, that is all of a sudden going to severely restrict landowners’ ability to get the help they need,” said Greg Hoar, president of the Crestomere Landowners Association, who watched the two-day trial.
Few farmers have the expertise or the knowledge to know if the agreement offered to them by the energy companies is in their best interest, especially when drilling new coalbed methane wells that could impact ground water.
“It really is an unlevel playing field. By and large the majority of farmers do not hire experts,” said Hoar.
He said after the first day the landowners that packed the court house were “feeling glum” when judge P. Ayotte said the trial was a straightforward case of interpreting the province’s Land Agents Licensing Act, which says only licensed land agents can accept a fee for negotiations.
But on the second day, Ayotte said the case had turned out to be a complex and important case that would affect negotiations between energy companies and landowners.
“This is really a test case,” said Hoar, a grain farmer from Ponoka.
Ayotte is expected to hand down his decision March 30.
