Completed Inquiries – Reports Released
21/10/2005
Alexis First Nation [TransAlta Utilities rights of way] – March 2003
The Alexis First Nation inquiry involved an examination of how the Crown’s fiduciary obligations were discharged in the granting of three rights of way over the Alexis Indian Reserve (IR) 133 to Calgary Power (now TransAlta Utilities) in 1959, 1967 and 1969. These rights of way were to be used for electrical distribution and transmission lines. The First Nation challenged the propriety of the three agreements negotiated by Canada on its behalf. Generally, the Commission made a factual finding that, in the 1950s and 1960s, the First Nation was vulnerable and dependent upon Canada to represent its interests in the negotiations with Calgary Power. The First Nation was not compensated for the 1959 electrical distribution line that brought electricity to the Alexis Day School and argued that this lack of compensation was a breach of treaty. The Commission found that the First Nation did not advance this argument with sufficient detail to enable the Commission to make a decision. Further, the Commission found that Canada had no fiduciary obligation to obtain compensation for the First Nation in these circumstances. The First Nation received $195 in compensation for the 1967 distribution line; this line was originally intended to service a community outside the reserve but it ultimately serviced the First Nation as well. The Commission decided that, in the absence of evidence that $195 was patently unreasonable, Canada did not have an obligation to obtain higher compensation for the First Nation. The First Nation placed the main focus of its claim on the 1969 right of way, granted for a transmission line to service the province of Alberta, for which the First Nation received a lump sum payment of $4,296. The First Nation asserted that Canada breached its fiduciary obligations by failing to obtain annual payments for the First Nation, failing to advise the First Nation of its taxation powers contained in the agreement, and failing to assist the First Nation to realize such tax revenue. Essentially, the Commission found that Canada breached its fiduciary obligation by failing to prevent an exploitative bargain in approving the transaction, which it knew contained inadequate compensation terms. The Commission further found that, given the inadequacy of the compensation, the Crown had a fiduciary duty to explain to the First Nation its authority to tax Calgary Power, which the Crown failed to do. The Commission also found that, in these circumstances, Canada had a duty to use the First Nation’s taxation authority to obtain tax revenues for the First Nation, which Canada failed to do. Ultimately, the Commission recommended that the claim of the Alexis First Nation be accepted for negotiation under Canada’s Specific Claims Policy. Response: In July 2005, government rejected recommendations, stating that a lump sum payment was adequate compensation, that there was no duty to advise the First Nation respecting its taxation powers, and that informed consent to the expropriation was not required. To download the government's response - PDF  To download the report - PDF
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