Urban Indian reserve

An urban Indian reserve is a property within a Municipality or Saskatchewan Northern Administration District that the Canadian federal government has designated as a First Nations reserve.cite web | url=http://www.wd.gc.ca/rpts/research/urban_reserves/intro_e.asp | title=Urban Reserves in Saskatchewan | publisher=Western Economic Diversification Canada | date=9 August 2007 ] Such lands allow for aboriginal commercial ventures which enjoy the tax exemptions offered to traditional reserves.

An urban reserve may result from either encroachment of a municipal area into existing reserve lands, or from the designation of land in an existing urban territory.

History

The first such reserve was established in 1981 at Kylemore, Saskatchewan as operated by the Fishing Lake First Nation (Treaty 4). Another urban reserve under the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (Treaty 6) followed at Prince Albert in 1982.cite web | url=http://www.otc.ca/PDFs/NEW/Relationships.Urban%20Reserve.pdf | format=PDF | accessdate=2008-03-02 | title=Relationships: Treaty awareness in Saskatchewan / Urban Reserves | publisher=Office of the Treaty Commissioner (Saskatchewan)]

It is argued that the first formal commercial urban reserve was a property of convert|33|acre|ha established within Saskatoon in 1988 for the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. By 2004, the reserve's commercial activity grew to provide employment for 350 people under 37 businesses, today known as the McKnight Commercial Centre.cite web | url=http://www.fcpp.org/main/publication_detail.php?PubID=650 | publisher=Frontier Centre for Public Policy | accessdate=2008-03-02 | date=21 October 2003 | title=Urban Reserves, A Temporary Stop-Gap ]

The Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement (TLEFA) was signed on 9 September 1992 to settle unresolved treaty land claims for 28 First Nation groups in Saskatchewan. Article 9 of this accord provides a mechanism for First Nations groups to contract with municipal governments to allow designation of certain properties as reserves.cite book | url=http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/city_planning/resources/publications/Urban%20Reserves.pdf | accessdate=2008-03-02 | title=Urban Reserves: The City of Saskatoon's Partnership with First Nations | authors=Sully, Lorne A.; Emmons, Mark D. | publisher=City of Saskatoon, City Planning Branch | date=22 April 2004 | page=6]

At least four urban reserves are also established in Manitoba.cite web | url=http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/mb/urs_e.html | title=Urban Reserves | publisher=Indian and Northern Affairs Canada | accessdate=2008-03-02 | date=8 March 2006, revised 30 October 2007 ] One of these, situated north of Winnipeg under the auspices of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation (Treaty 1), includes a gas station and a tobacco retailer with plans to include a medical facility and larger operations such as automobile retail.cite news | url=http://origin.www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/11/27/urban-reserve.html | date=27 November 2007 | accessdate=2008-03-05 | title=Medical clinic planned for newly opened urban reserve | publisher=CBC News ]

Opinions

Critics such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation are concerned that such reserves are entitled to exemptions from taxation that other businesses in a community do not enjoy. Furthermore, there are complications in disposing of urban reserve lands which require approval of the operating First Nation, and that reserve lands would revert to federal government control.cite web | url=http://www.taxpayer.com/main/news.php?news_id=2085 | title=Urban Reserve - Coming to a City Near You | accessdate=2008-03-02 | date=16 September 2005 | publisher=Canadian Taxpayers Federation | authors=Fiss, Tanis; Batra, Adrienne ] Other critics such as the Frontier Centre for Public Policy concede that urban reserves have benefits, but wish the abolishment of the reserve system and other racially-based policies as a whole.

Proponents of urban reserves note that these encourage a diverse land base which provides business opportunities for First Nations people. It is also claimed that there are advantages to the surrounding community due to spin-off business activity which contributes favourably to those outside the reserve.

Further reading

* Opinion item which advocates urban reserves for Ottawa, Ontario.

References