Sask. portraying 'totally false' depiction of Crown Land auction sales, groups say

Yorkton, Sask. -

With the auction sale of Saskatchewan’s Crown Lands continuing, multiple groups are questioning if the government’s processes go too far.

Among those questioning are Chief Matthew Peigan of Pasqua First Nation.

Peigan understands the processes as his Indigenous nation sold off portions of its own Crown Land Entitlements in 2008. Since then, Peigan said the nation have acquired one quarter section of land and are in discussion for another one quarter section.

“The province has created a process called ‘public auctions’ and our opinion and our view — when you bring something to auction, you’re looking at disposing it and now you become a willing seller, basically,” Peigan said.

Peigan added that by doing this process, it stops the Indigenous nation from purchasing the lands based on the Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement.

“A First Nation could acquire Crown Lands based on a willing seller or willing buyer, the province is refusing to fulfill that agreement [by] telling the Frist Nation that if they want to acquire those lands, they have to enter into a general auction,” Peigan explained.

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He said that new processes like mineral auctions are also in violation of treaty, along with Crown Land lease auctions.

The lease removes the Treaty land Entitlement agreement because the lands must be purchased, “lock, stock and barrel,” Peigan said.

“So we cannot proceed on acquiring those lands,” he said.

Duty to consult was also changed about one year ago, according to Chief Peigan, as the Ministry of Agriculture is now able to determine when a Duty to Consult is triggered.

“Basically being the scholars if you may call it, of knowing our first nations sacred treaties, our rights and our aboriginal rights and it’s a big flaw,” Peigan said.

“In my view, the province brings these forward in the public view on how they’re engaging with Indigenous nations it’s totally false what the province is portraying to the general public.”

When it comes to the actual lands involved in the sell off they’re considered, ‘vulnerable’ by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. That’s according to co-chair of public pastures and public interest, Trevor Herriot.

“This has been going on for so long in Saskatchewan,” Herriot said.

Fifty-six parcels of Crown Land are up for auction, totalling more than 7,300 acres of land.

“Mostly up in the forest fringe area where the Aspen Parkland joins the Boreal Forest or the Mixwood Forest. It’s an ongoing concern. We’re having trouble getting the province to really wake up and see what is happening. Since 2007, this current government has sold almost two-million acres of Crown Land, land that belongs to all of us,” Herriot said.

Meanwhile, for over a year, NDP MLA Betty Nippi-Albright has been pushing the government to change these processes — or it may result in legal action taken by individual nations.

“I am aware that there are many nations that have not been consulted and their turnaround for consultation is so minimal and it’s not enough time for the nations to consult their members,” she said.

“This is going to keep happening, these Crown Lands must be protected for treaty rights holders. If they are sold off, we will not have Crown Land left to exercise our treaty rights and that’s not right.”

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Friday morning, the province responded to CTV News on its processes involving the Crown Land Auction sales.

“Consistent with the Government of Saskatchewan’s current First Nation and Métis Consultation Policy Framework, the Ministry of Agriculture reviews each parcel of Crown land prior to lease or sale to determine if there is a Duty to Consult,” the statement said.

“The province seeks information from potentially affected First Nation and Métis communities about their use of the land for hunting, fishing and trapping rights and for traditional activities. If the land is used for these purposes and continued access to the land is necessary to ensure that these activities can continue, then the land is not sold.”

The province continues to state that a full list of Crown Lands proposed for sale or lease that are deemed to trigger the “Duty to Consult,” are posted online for 60 days. The province said it sends a registered letter in the mail to all First Nation and Metis communities to notify of the online posting for each term.

“The full list of Duty To Consult lands are posted online at the same time the notification letters are sent,” the statement also read.