On April 19, 2021, Siksika Nation (“Siksika”) filed the TOPGAS and OMAC Specific Claim (the “Claim”). The Claim relates to Canada’s collection of royalties for gas produced on Siksika’s Reserve. The Claim alleges that Canada breached its fiduciary and statutory duties in collecting royalties for gas produced on the Reserve. Siksika seeks equitable compensation for the financial losses arising from Canada’s failure to collect all of the royalties owing to Siksika for gas produced on the Reserve and the loss of use of those royalties.
Siksika and Canada agreed that resolving the Claim is a matter of determining the appropriate amount of compensation for Canada’s fiduciary and statutory breaches, including deciding the interest rate to be applied to the total value of TOPGAS and OMAC royalty adjustments (the “Unpaid Royalties”) to arrive at a suitable net present value. This amount was verified by Sproule Consulting, a Siksika-retained oil and gas consultant.
In or around February 2022, Canada made an informal indication of offer to settle the Claim for under $3 million based on the formula applied from previous TOPGAS claims with other First Nations.
On August 30, 2022, Canada advised that it could settle the Claim for a higher amount, but the amount was still unacceptable to Siksika. This offer used the BandTrust Fund rate with 100% compounding interest to bring forward the value of the Unpaid Royalties plus an amount to account for Siksika’s costs in bringing the Claim.
After further negotiations between Canada & Siksika, on May 18, 2023, Canada put forward a formal offer to settle the Claim for $5,162,198. In consultation with our legal counsel Siksika leadership agreed the offer of approximately $5,162,198 million (the “Offer”) was the best offer available, therefore Siksika leadership, acting in the best interest of the Nation, agreed to the offer.
Join Siksika Nation leadership at the Siksika Piikapsi Memorial Arbour the evening of November 1, 2023 from 6:00 – 7:30 to learn more about this claim. Due to the amount of the settlement, no referendum is required. The community meeting is to provide information and answer any questions. Legal counsel will be available and on-site for the meeting.
