Metis win control over development

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A two-year old moratorium on oil and gas development on northern Alberta's eight Metis settlement has come to an end with the offer of six new leases.

And under a new agreement with the provincial government, the communities will have an unprecedented right to impose their own royalties and dictate how companies will work the land.

"No other land owner in Alberta will be in our position of being able to draft up terms and conditions," said Randall Hardy, chairman of the Metis settlements access committee.

If the communities are able to attract drilling activity from a slumping industry, they will be able to collect separate royalties by up to 25 per cent of a well operation. They will also be able to set local employment, social and environmental conditions.

The new deal flows from the 1990 Metis land and money agreement with the provincial government that created the settlements. The communities, which have about 6,000 residents, also won a 17-year deal to co-manage oil and gas resources with the province.

The moratorium was put in place to give the communities and the government a chance to negotiate the shared management agreement.

During that period, demand for new leases has dropped. which has slowed potential new income for some settlements. But the "sacrifice of a few bucks" in the short run is outweighed by long-term confidence.

"The oil and gas will be there for a long time," Hardy said, acknowledging that some companies may choose to drill on Crown land rather than meet additional Metis demands.

"Most of the settlements are pretty level-headed about what makes sense. There

is a down-swing in the economy. There's going to be a bit of compromise on both sides.

Alberta Energy Minister Rick Orman will have the power to reject some of the Metis conditions under the agreement. But Metis settlements can block company access to a community if they can't reach an agreement with the province.