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29/08/1997

Indian Claims Commission Recommends Additional Research to Determine if BC First Nation Properly Compensated for Surrender of Indian Reserve

Ottawa (August 29, 1997) - The Indian Claims Commission (the Commission) today released its inquiry report into a claim for surrendered land by the Sumas Indian Band of British Columbia. The Band alleged that 153.46 acres of their reserve land was wrongfully surrendered to the Crown in 1919. The surrendered land is located in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

The Commission concluded that Canada did not violate the procedural requirements of the Indian Act when the Band voted to surrender the land in 1919 for sale to the Soldier Settlement Board for $80 per acre. Although the Crown initially sought the surrender of IR No. 7 to make the land available to returning soldiers from World War I, most of the land was ultimately sold to civilians for an average price of $81.81 per acre.

The Band also alleged that, because Canada actively sought the surrender and did not use the land to settle returning soldiers as originally intended, the Crown breached its fiduciary obligations. On this ground, the Commission concluded that there was no evidence of any breach; rather, the evidence was that the Sumas Indian Band made a full and informed decision to surrender the reserve and there were no tainted dealings on the part of the Crown that would make it unsafe to rely on the Band's understanding and intention to surrender.

Co-Chair Dan Bellegarde and Commissioner Corcoran, however, were not completely satisfied that the Crown acted reasonably in trying to obtain fair compensation for the Band in exchange for the surrender of IR No. 7. There exists the possibility that the Band was improperly compensated for the loss of the land since there was no independent valuation of the land in 1919. The Commission, therefore, recommended that the Band and Canada conduct joint research to determine whether fair market value was paid for the land in 1919.

"We have concluded that there was no breach of lawful obligation by Canada in this case because there was no evidence to confirm the Band's allegations that Indian Affairs officials acted improperly in seeking the surrender," said Commissioner Carole Corcoran. "Nevertheless, we do have misgivings about whether the Sumas Band was properly compensated for their land - we're not completely satisfied that the Crown did its reasonable duty with regard to obtaining a fair price for the Band. If the recommended joint research study confirms that the fair market value was higher than the $80.00 per acre paid to the Band, it is our view that the Band is entitled to be compensated for any such discrepancy. Any compensation owed to the Band would be a matter of negotiation between the parties."

The ICC was established in 1991. Its mandate is: to inquire, at the request of a First Nation, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government or where the First Nation disputes the compensation criteria being considered in negotiations; and to provide mediation services on consent of the parties at any stage of the claims process.

To download the report PDF