Alberta’s Bearspaw First Nation fighting federal government for right to manage own savings – CBC
Jul 27, 2021
About $50M in resource wealth held by Ottawa, but First Nation wants full control
A southern Alberta First Nation is battling the federal government for the right to control its own oil and gas royalties.
The Bearspaw First Nation is demanding that Ottawa no longer collect any money on its behalf and return about $50 million collected from oilpatch activity on its traditional territory.
The band alleges the government is doing a poor job of investing the savings and won’t release the funds because of Ottawa’s mistrust of First Nations to properly handle money.
The federal government has had control of band money since the late 19th century and acted as trustee of any energy royalties earned by First Nations. To this day, the government also holds on to money earned from other sources, such as the sale of land, timber and gravel.
Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-bearspaw-first-nation-government-savings-1.6117818
