Economic equality for First Nations draws fire

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The Musqueam Band's lease-land rent increase has brought the issues of accountability, resource management and taxation without representation bubbling furiously to the surface.

This in itself may not be a bad thing, but it has added fuel to the fire of the opponents of the treaty-making process who say the problems between the band and the leaseholders are a sample of what the future holds for the province as more treaties are implemented. That allegation is discounted as uninformed and erroneous by most First Nations groups and other interested parties.

The Musqueam Band, responding to what it considers inaccurate and inflammatory reports in the media, say some involved parties, and politicians, have wrongly used their lease-land problem to attempt to derail the treaty-making process.

"The issue is not concerned about race; it is not concerned about treaty; it is not about Musqueam getting even; it is not about self-government and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Nisga'a treaty," said Chief Ernie Campbell. "The issue is simply this: It's about abiding by the terms of lease contracts which require the lessees to pay a fair rent for the properties they lease."

In 1958, the Musqueam Band opted to surrender 162 acres of their 414-acre reserve for the Shaughnessy Heights Golf and Country Club. The land was leased to the club for 75 years (terminating in the year 2033) at what is considered to be "exceedingly low rent." The lease was negotiated and executed entirely by the band's trustee, the federal government.

The Musqueam Band determined that the "unconscionable behavior" of the federal government amounted to fraud and they took their case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The band won this case after several years of litigation and was awarded damages because of the Crown's fraudulent behavior.

A few years after the original signing of the Shaughnessy Heights land lease, the band surrendered another 40 acres of their land (74 residential lots) for lease to members of the general public for residential purposes.

Once again, the federal government negotiated on behalf of the band and secured for the lessees a 99-year lease. The agreement signed in 1965 stated the rates were to be fixed for the first 30 years and in 1995 the rents would be reviewed and raised.

The band believed the fixed rates for the 74 residential lots were exploitative because it allowed lessees to continue paying nominal fees averaging about $305 per year for what is considered as prime residential real estate.

In 1995 the band began negotiations with the lessees that went on for more than a year without reaching accord. The lessees were determined not to pay more than $6,000 per year per lot, which would return only one per cent of the land value. The Musqueam Band determined the land had value at $600,000, based on smaller lots in the same residential area. The conflict led to the band and lessees invoking the arbitration clauses of the leases and turning to the Federal Court to settle the issue.

The Trial Division of the Federal Court handed down judgement in October 1997, ruling that the fee-simple value of the land was $600,000 but because it was Indian land, the fee simple value had to be reduced by 50 per cent.

The band argued that there was no legitimate reason for the deduction and appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal ,which handed down a judgment on Dec. 21, 1998. That judgment overturned the trial judge's decision and upheld the Musqueam position that Indian land was no less valuable than other land. The Appeal Court also determined that average rents payable will be in the neighborhood of $28,000 per year. This figure is based upon six per cent of the land value.

Since the band adopted and implemented this ruling, the City of Vancouver has adopted the same formula for its leasehold lands. The six per cent rate increase was levied on property holders in the False Creek developments.

"The Musqueam hikes are normal and the hies represent nothing to do with being Indian," said Manager of Real Estate Services for Vancouver, Bruce Maitland. "It's done throughout the world on leasehold lands . . . six per cent is not an unreasonable return."

Maitland told all lessees in the False Creek Strata developments (apartments and condominiums) that the six per cent increase will be applied for the rent review in 2006 and offered the option to prepay. Of the 376 lessees involved, more than 150 have opted for prepayment without any of the fanfare associated with the Musqueam rental hike.

The rental hike has exposed the Musqueam Band to a lot of criticism in the mainstream press, where an uncommon amount of space and time has been dedicated to generating anti-Native sentiments. One daily newspaper published a letter that claimed the Musqueam had no right to hike the rent when they already receive "hundreds of millions of tax dollars every year in direct aid from the federal government."

Many politicians have publicly denounced the rental hike and used it as a fear-generating tactic against treaty-making.

"Dramatic rent hikes for non-Natives . . . doesn't bode well for impending treaty talks," said Mayor Philip Owen, who mirrored earlier statements made to the press by Quadra MP Ted McWhinney.

"For the past 112 years, home ownership has been cherished in Vancouver. Now many of these owners are being forced out of their houses," Owen added. "This raises the issue of trust and the future of open negotiations with the Musqueam."

Vancouver City Councillor George Puil has gone on record stating: "I've never trusted the Musqueam Band. I've met with them from time to time over the years and they've always told us what 'they' want. They don't want to conform to our by-laws. This doesn't bode well for the future."

The Musqueam Band has requested meetings with the lessees to discuss options and terms for paying the court-approved retroactive rental increase. The lease-land home owners are reticent because of theoverwhelming financial burden. They have already spent about $700,000 on legal bills and are concerned that if they lose, they will be forced to come up with the back payments on the rent (1995 onward) plus additional legal fees.

The federal government recently allocated $30,000 to the band to hire consultants to take another look at the controversial rent hikes and determine an amenable course of action.

The band told tenants that it recognizes people are having trouble arranging to pay back rent and it is "open to any reasonable proposal" for bringing leases into "good standing."