First Nations are growing their economies

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This article was published 11/07/2016 (3399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba First Nations are viewing urban reserves as a means to bring in revenue and create jobs to benefit their members living on- and off-reserve.

Peguis First Nation’s property at 1075 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg could soon become the province’s second urban reserve. Once the provincial Driver and Vehicle Licensing head office, the building has been owned by Peguis FN since 2014.

“It’s one of our priority projects, It will be another urban reserve,” said Peguis First Nation TLE Implementation Unit executive director Nathan McCorrister.

Now operating as the Chief Peguis Business Centre, offices are being used for Peguis FN education and investment operations, while space is also rented to external companies and organizations such as Creative Retirement Learning Centre.

McCorrister said the site’s land survey and environmental site assessment are done, and designation received under the Indian Act allowing space in the building to be leased to third parties. A community referendum held in January resulted in 98 per cent of the surrounding neighbours voting in favour of Peguis FN’s plans for the property.

The next step is signing the municipal servicing agreement with the City of Winnipeg.

“I’m hopeful that the City will be supportive,” McCorrister said. “That’s our last big hurdle.”

Peguis FN is also working with the Manitoba Jockey Club on an agreement to improve the existing Assiniboia Downs grandstand and expand the complex to include a conference centre on what is now an adjacent parking lot. Peguis FN has purchased land to the north and west of the grandstand, some of which is located within the RM of Headingley. The grandstand itself is to be transferred to Peguis FN in 25 years.

“It’s been a really positive relationship with the Jockey Club,” McCorrister said.

Plans for the ASD site were approved by the City of Winnipeg, and McCorrister is pleased with the negotiations. “We had the chance to speak directly to city councillors,” he said.
He promises that the partnership between Peguis FN and the Jockey Club will result in a unique development, possibly similar to First Nations-owned casino/conference centres in Calgary and outside Edmonton.

He said he wasn’t aware of what will happen to the portion of land within the RM of Headingley.McCorrister said the First Nation’s land entitlement settlement gives it the right to select and purchase 55,000 acres of Crown land and 40,000 acres of privately-owned land. In addition to the two sites in Winnipeg and Headingley, Peguis FN wants to acquire land near Selkirk, which is where members of the band originally lived before being moved to the reserve in the north Interlake.

“We have a strong connection to Selkirk,” McCorrister said.

 

 

Swan Lake has plans for Headingley property

While not yet designated as an urban reserve, Swan Lake First Nation owns about 24 acres adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway in the RM of Headingley.

The Arboc Smoke Shop and Gas Bar operated by a Swan Lake FN member Larry Soldier is located next to the former Alpine Motel, which is now being used for office space by Swan Lake with some space leased out. A gaming centre and VLT lounge was built in 2006 on the east side of the motel.

This land was purchased in 2000, and Swan Lake FN special projects manager Bob Green said the band recently purchased another 19 acres to the south.

“We’ve put together a development plan for the area,” he said.

This includes the recently constructed three-storey, 53,000-square-foot office building located to the south of the gas bar. While Swan Lake FN will use some office space, Green said the majority will be leased to other tenants.

He expects the building to open in August and that it will be fully leased. Its rural location with nearby access to the Trans-Canada Highway will make it attractive to organizations and businesses whose clients and customers might not want to drive into the city.

“They don’t have to go downtown. The parking is good. People like the tranquility of the area,” he said.

The next step in Swan Lake FN’s development plan is to demolish the former motel. Green said Soldier is also planning to expand his business to include a Pizza Hotline restaurant.  

“This is going to be a development that Swan Lake can be proud of and everyone in the area can be proud of,” Green said.

He said that Swan Lake FN has enjoyed a good working relationship with the RM of Headingley, and expects that to continue.

Rolling River FN is starting reserve in RM of Headingley

On Dec. 22, 2015, then Rolling River First Nations chief Morris Swan Shannacappo, and late Headingley mayor Wilf Taillieu signed a service agreement pertaining to 78 acres of land at 4251 Portage Ave. While the land was purchased by Rolling River FN in 2012, it took about three years to work out the agreement.

Rolling River FN band manager Alvin Huntinghawk said Rolling River FN is working to obtain reserve status for the property, a portion of which is now occupied by a used car dealership.

“We’re looking at economic development opportunities such as a gas bar — probably one or two years down the road,” he said. Future development could include expansion of the existing business and residential development.

Province’s first urban reserve paid off quickly

Manitoba’s first urban reserve is located on three acres next to Madison Street and St. Matthews Avenue in Winnipeg. Long Plain First Nation bought the property from Manitoba Hydro in 2005, and the property became an urban reserve in 2013. The land is about 100 kilometres from Long Plain’s home reserve, which is located about 30 kilometres southwest of Portage la Prairie.

Passersby will notice the Petro-Canada station and convenience store at 490 Madison St., which sells the highest volume of fuel of any independently-owned gas station in the city, according to Long Plain’s Arrowhead Development’s CEO Tim Daniels.

Through a partnership with Suncor Energy, the station opened in February 2015. Daniels said, while the station cost about $1.9 million to build, it has generated nearly $2 million since opening.

“In its first year, it’s paid for itself,” he said.

He said approximately two-thirds of the station’s staff are Long Plain FN members. But it’s not necessarily the employment opportunities that make the Madison Avenue reserve so valuable, it’s the money being earned through the gas station, the adjacent office building that houses

Yellowquill College and other tenants and the five surrounding businesses that are now leasing their land from Long Plains FN. Doreen Beauchamp, director of Yellowquill College, said between 200 and 225 full- and part-time Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students attended the college in 2015-16.

Daniels said earnings are being used to improve the lives of the residents on the home reserve through road and infrastructure improvements. Homes are being constructed on a second reserve site just outside the City of Portage la Prairie. Daniels said Long Plain will help home buyers with financing in a similar manner to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and some units will be rented.

Arrowhead Development also has plans to build an $18-million five-storey office and conference centre on its urban reserve.

“It’s a one-year project,” Daniels said. “We want to be able to host conferences.”

Building is to begin later this year. Office space will be leased to First Nations that now have child and family services offices scattered across Winnipeg, Daniels said.

Another small section of land next to the Madison Street development was recently purchased.

“We’re not done on this Madison property,” Daniels said.

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Working with INAC and municipalities
Manitoba First Nations and municipalities are following the lead of groups in Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada to ink agreements on servicing urban reserves such as Long Plain’s Madison Street development in Winnipeg’s St. James area and Peguis First Nations’ business centre at 1075 Portage Ave.

According to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), there are 181 urban reserves across Canada, and over 50 are located in Saskatchewan. Former commissioner of the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba Jamie Wilson said the reason Saskatchewan has so many more than Manitoba, is that most of Saskatchewan’s First Nations settled their Treaty Land Entitlement claims faster than did Manitoba First Nations.

The whole process of establishing an urban reserve begins with the TLE settlements which First Nations across Canada began signing in the 1990s. These settlements typically involve cash payments and spell out how much Crown land and privately-held land within each First Nation’s treaty area can be transferred and purchased.  

About three years ago, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba and the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee started working on a process for municipalities and First Nations to follow when talking about setting up service agreements for First Nations-owned land. While INAC must give final approval to designate Crown or privately purchased land as an urban reserve, one of the major steps in the process is signing a service agreement with the local municipality.

“A municipal servicing agreement provides a fee for services such as water, garbage collection, police and fire protection, and is an amount which is generally equal to the amount the municipality would have collected through property taxes. Education tax loss and service agreements with affected school divisions must also be negotiated by the First Nation, including a mechanism for settling disputes,” according to INAC’s website.

The working group came up with a community accord that can be signed by both parties to express their willingness to work together on establishing urban reserves.

AMM executive director Joe Masi said the accord is meant to foster a better understanding and communications between Manitoba First nations and municipalities.

He sees future relationships between Manitoba First Nations and municipalities as being a win-win situation, with economic benefits available for both.

“I think there’s an opportunity for municipalities to bring projects to their area,” he said.

— Staff