REGINA — Nearly 1,542 hectares (3,811 acres) of Crown mineral rights will be transferred to Cowessess First Nation under the Cowessess Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) Settlement Agreement.
Acquiring new reserve lands through successful TLE agreements supports community growth and traditional land use, according to a Ministry of Justice and Attorney General. This transfer is part of the province's commitment to TLE settlement agreements, aimed at ensuring that First Nation communities receive the land promised to them under historical treaties. Under the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, 1930, Saskatchewan has a constitutional obligation to assist the federal government with this promise.
The TLE agreements provide First Nations with entitlement monies to purchase land anywhere in the province on a "willing buyer-willing seller" basis and add it to their reserves.
Under the terms of TLE agreement, all undisposed provincial Crown minerals underlying lands purchased by the First Nation are to be transferred at no cost to the Government of Canada for purposes of reserve creation.
This story has been updated with a corrected amount of hectares supplied by the government.
