Tsuu T'ina offered nearly $500M benefit in secret deal

By Don Braid, Calgary Herald May 22, 2009 6:08 AM 

Photograph by: Gavin Young, Calgary Herald

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces money today for one Calgary ring road project, the real monster is shaping up on the west side of the city.Several sources say the total cost to the province of the southwest ring road through the Tsuu T'ina reserve could easily hit $1.5 billion in cash, land and construction costs.The Tsuu T'ina band itself will receive cash payments, as well as land transfers and infrastructure upgrades, worth close to $500 million.

The exact cash figure in the secret provincial-band agreement wasn't available.

 But sources agree the large majority of roughly$500 mil-lion will be paid as land and upgrades.On top of the band's take, the province will likely spend $800 million to $1 billion on actual construction of about 21 kilometers of highway.Construction estimates from provincial sources are still inexact, though, based on the cost of other ring road projects in Calgary and Edmonton.

Meanwhile, the band is moving closer to one of the greatest decisions in its long history.

 Nine open houses will be held on the reserve between June 3 and June 18, including three with elders and six more general sessions.The momentous vote on the deal with the province comes June 30.Until then, details of that agreement will be held in tight secrecy.Only one copy will be available at the band office for members to read. They won't be allowed to copy it or take it away.

Only band members will be admitted to the open houses.

They'll see presentations and hear details, but no paper will leave the room.Between 800 and 900 eligible band members are expected to vote on the package.As part of the agreement, the province pledged not to make the document public until it's ratified by the reserve.Variations on this project have been kicking around since 1947, of course, and deals have been announced before.

My favorite is a Herald headline from June 17, 1960: "$5 Million Ring Road System Set For City."

Costs have obviously risen since then. But it's hard to chart recent escalation because the province has always been vague about estimates.It's safe to say, though, that nobody anticipated a bill of $1.5 billion when these negotiations were launched on March 11, 2005.Perhaps fortunately, the government won't have to face most of those costs for some time, even for years.

There's no chance a shovel will hit the ground in this fiscal year.

After the Tsuu T'ina ratify the deal, if they do, it must still go to Ottawa for approval. That can easily take a year or more.The project is scheduled for completion by 2015, but even that could be variable.The deeper worry is that the project could be shelved because of the limp economy and shrinking government revenues.

Provincial officials say, however, that money should be available when-ever the project begins because it's part of the 20-year capital plan.

Despite all the false starts and frustrations over more than 60 years, this moment seems very different.Once the band approves the road, thus sealing a formal agreement with the province, construction might meander, but it will be inevitable.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Tsuu T'ina want backing before deal goes to Ottawa
 
By Jamie Komarnicki And Kim Guttormson, Calgary HeraldMarch 27, 2009
 
The Tsuu T'ina will wait until a band vote in June to submit its southwest ring road land deal with the province to the federal government for review, even though a review could begin before ballots are cast.

"That's not how we do things at Tsuu T'ina. When it comes to land, there's always a vote by Tsuu T'ina members," tribe spokesman Peter Manywounds said.

"It could (go to the federal government before receiving band member approval), but that's not the way we're going to do it."

Manywounds said three more months isn't unreasonable.

"After 47 years, three months?" he said, referring to the first time the band was asked to consider selling land on the eastern edge of its reserve for a road.

During the three months until the vote, the band will make sure members are informed about the proposed deal, Manywounds said.

Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said his department--which must sign off on the deal before any Tsuu T'ina land can be transferred to the province -- can start its work whenever it receives the agreement.

Having the band members approve the deal is an internal issue and not required by Indian and Northern Affairs, Strahl added.

The Tsuu T'ina council has signed off on a draft deal that would see about four square kilometres of land given to the province in exchange for other land and cash. Details of the deal are not yet public.

About 800 Tsuu T'ina members are eligible to vote on the agreement on June 30.

The land is necessary for the province to build the southwest leg of the ring road.

Strahl said that while he hasn't seen the legal document yet, which he's told is about 300 pages long, he is "encouraged" by the news that after years of negotiating a deal has been reached.

"There is a federal obligation when you transfer First Nation land out of their control to do due diligence," he said, mentioning surveys and environmental assessments.

"The last thing we want is a rushed transfer and find out 10 years later that something wasn't done right.

"It has to be done in a way that's ironclad."

Strahl said it's a lengthy process and "unlikely it will be done in months."

He wouldn't speculate on how long it could take.

jkomarnicki@theherald.canwest.com

kguttormson@theherald. canwest.Com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

By Kim Guttormson, Calgary HeraldMarch 26, 2009 7:30 AM

The most contentious piece of land needed for the southwest ring road is a step closer to belonging to the province, but the government still needs to purchase a number of privately owned parcels along the route.

"We have about 90 per cent of the non-Tsuu T'ina land we need," Trent Bancarz, spokesman for Alberta Transportation, said. "We've identified the parcels, we've been in discussions with landowners, in some cases for a couple of years already."

Tsuu T'ina Chief Sandford Big Plume officially announced Tuesday that the band council approved a deal with the province to hand over about four square kilometres of territory in exchange for different land and cash.

While the agreement must still be ratified by band members at a vote in June, and the federal government needs to approve any transfer of land, the Tsuu T'ina portion is key to the southwest ring road moving forward in the planned alignment.

"We want all the parcels in place before construction starts,"Bancarz said, adding expropriation is a last resort.

"They've become much less common," he said. "Land has assumed an almost mythical importance."

However, the Tsuu T'ina band seems to be looking at using the land to leverage opportunity, Flanagan said.

"There's been an explosion of entrepreneurship among First Nations in the last 20 years and the Tsuu T'ina have been at the forefront of that," he pointed out, adding that a freeway running along the Tsuu T'ina's eastern edge would open business doors for the community.

"This is a decisive step," he said of the band council's support of giving up the land. "Once you sell the land, it's sold. The road's there. It locks in the development strategy the (band) government has been pursuing."

About 800 members of the Tsuu T'ina Nation will decide June 30 whether that sale will happen.

Native band to decide deal's fate in June
 
By Kim Guttormson, Calgary HeraldMarch 25, 2009

Chief Sandford Big Plume said negotiating a ring-road deal involving the Tsuu T'ina's "sacred land" has been difficult.
Photograph by: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

The future of the southwest ring road now sits in the hands of about 800 members of the Tsuu T'ina Nation, who will vote in June whether to sell about four square kilometres of territory to the province or quash a decades-long attempt to run the freeway over band land.

During Treaty Day on June 30, eligible members will be asked to approve a deal that will see the band give up a strip of land on the eastern edge of its reserve in exchange for new land and an undisclosed amount of money.

Should a majority not agree to the deal, Chief Sandford Big Plume said any plan to run the southwest connector through Tsuu T'ina Nation land "can be put to rest. It's done."

Using a portion of the re-serve for a major road has been talked about since 1947.
In recent years, with in-creased traffic, pressure to build a highway on Calgary's western edge has intensified.
There have been numerous false starts, but the chief said he wouldn't apologize for taking the time to make sure the deal reached was the best possible.

"The land is sacred land for us," Big Plume said. "Those are not empty words, that is the truth."
With Big Plume's announcement Tuesday that the band council had signed off on a deal, all involved agree that a big step has been achieved.
Band members must also ratify the deal, and the federal government must pass an order-in-council to transfer the property to the province.
"For us, negotiating the land for an urban highway has been difficult," Big Plume said. "The road has to mean more to the Tsuu T'ina than a cash infusion. It has to be part of a plan to buy business and careers and hope for generations."

He admitted to mixed emotions about recommending the land be transferred.
Some band members Tuesday weren't aware of what the deal entails and didn't want to comment. At least one man said he doesn't agree with the concept.
"I don't think it's a good idea to give away more land," he said.

Big Plume, calling it a historic day, refused to provide details until they are shared with the Nation members, but said the new land is concurrent with the existing reserve.
The first meetings will be held with elders, likely in June, and then there will be open houses for band members to learn what is included in the agreement.
Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette said the council approval means the long-awaited deal is moving forward. 

"I think it's great," he said, adding that it could mean a ring road encircling Calgary will be completed by the provincial goal of 2015.
It's premature to discuss what hap-pens should band members not approve the deal, Ouellette said.

Darshan Kang, the Liberal transportation critic, said a ring road is vital for Calgary, but he believes the province also needs a plan B.
"I think we've heard about these deals before,"he said. "And we have to know the details of the deal. It's why they should've come out today."
For many Calgarians, the details of the deal are less important than the fact there is one and that the southwest ring road is a step closer to reality.

Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who represents an area south of the Tsuu T'ina Nation and whose constituents would love to have a north-south alternative to drive, said while there's still a long road ahead, she is optimistic.

"To my understanding, the benefits to the residents of Tsuu T'ina were never there to the extent they are today," she said of previous deals.
Ouellette said they will now work with the federal government to try to ensure that the land transfer --should it be approved--moves swiftly through.
Big Plume said they've talked to the federal government as well and doesn't anticipate the process taking as long for the Tsuu T'ina as it has in some other cases.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Sandford Big Plume, re-elected chief of the Tsuu T'ina tribe, says "it's about time when I'm going to say enough is enough. Let's make a deal or not" on the ring road.
Photograph by: Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald
The long-awaited south-west ring road has cleared a significant hurdle with the chief and council of the Tsuu T'ina Nation approving a deal with the province to build the freeway across band land.
Band members, who have been informed of the council's decision, will have their chance to vote on the agreement June 30.
Alberta Transportation spokesman Jerry Bellikka said the province has also been notified that the council has approved a draft of the final agreement.
While there are still other hurdles -- including ratification by the band members and approval from the federal government--Bellikka called the council's vote"a very significant step."
"There are still some more steps to go through,"he added, "but this is a very, very positive step," Bellikka said.
Tsuu T'ina spokesman Morten Paulsen said Chief Sandford Big Plume will hold a news conference this afternoon, but would provide no other details.
The mythic southwest ring road has been in the works, off and on, for decades.
Negotiations have ramped up over the past few years, raising hopes that a deal would be reached--especially with the province heralding imminent deals a number of times during that period.
The preferred path of the 20-kilometre road is to run it through the Tsuu T'ina reserve --but that requires about two square kilometres of land be transferred to the province.
Price has been a sticking point, as have some other details.
Dave Fryett, transportation director for the South of Fish Creek community association, said the band council's approval makes him hopeful the ring road is closer.
But he's cautious with his optimism, citing previous announcements that have fizzled.
"I did go to a news conference in 2004 and they said there was a deal, with deadlines and mileposts," he said.
What there is no doubt about, Fryett said, is the need for a southwest connector.
"We need it, we need a southwest ring road. Everything now is reliant on the Glenmore causeway,"he added of commuters trying to travel north-south along 14th Street S. W. or Macleod Trail.
With a draft deal finally going to a vote, if the band members accept it, the province can move ahead with the established route.
But Fryett sees the vote itself as a step forward. Even if the members reject it, he points out, the city and province can then move forward with an alternative route.
"Everybody needs to make a decision," Fryett said.
Ald. Brian Pincott, whose ward abuts the Tsuu T'ina reserve, said he's long been a proponent of not waiting for the band to make a decision about the ring road.
"I've been a proponent of let's move forward and find a solution for Calgary," he said, pointing to the need for an interchange at 37th Street and Glenmore Trail as an example. "I'm still a proponent of that."
If Tsuu T'ina residents approve the deal in June, the federal government still needs to pass an order-in-council to transfer the property to the province. That's been estimated to take anywhere from six months to a year.
Construction on the southwest leg of the ring road--which could eventually expand to 16 lanes but is likely to start with four, with at least five interchanges, including 37th and Glenmore -- is expected to take be-tween three and four years once it begins.
Fryett argues this is the perfect time to start such a major project, with construction companies looking for jobs for the first time in years.
Earlier this month, the province unveiled plans for the southeast leg of the ring road, with 25 kilometres of free-flowing, six-lane roadway built from 17th Avenue S.E. to the Macleod Trail interchange at Marquis of Lorne Trail.

By Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald March 24, 2009 8:02 AM                                                                                                                                                                      Photograph by: Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

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