Bids for land purchase ordered sealed

Claiming Premier Dennis Fentie has broken a promise, the Ta'an Kwach'an Council has received a court order temporarily preventing the sale of two waterfront properties.

Claiming Premier Dennis Fentie has broken a promise, the Ta’an Kwach’an Council has received a court order temporarily preventing the sale of two waterfront properties.

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale granted the order late Wednesday afternoon. It seals any bids received by yesterday’s deadline, at least until lawyers have had an opportunity to argue the case before him next Wednesday.

Ta’an deputy chief Gail Anderson and Chief Mike Smith of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation were in court Wednesday with their lawyers to watch the brief proceedings.

Both indicated Fentie committed verbally and in writing to discuss purchase options for the two waterfront properties with the two local first nations.

Out of the blue, Anderson explained, Fentie called Ta’an Chief Ruth Massie in mid-June to inform her the government would sell the properties through a public tender process.

Days later, on June 25, the properties were advertised publicly for a price of $561,000 for the smaller of the two, and $2.13 million for the larger lot, with a bid deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The smaller lot is .18 of a hectare, and is located between First and Second Avenues.

The large lot is .89 of a hectare, is located on the other side of First Avenue, and its northern boundary butts up against Ogilvie Street, across from the parking lots for Shipyards Park.

Smith suspects a third party somehow grabbed the government’s ear, prompting Fentie’s sudden about-face and his overnight decision to sell the land in record time.

“And we think that is basically why our interest was dismissed,“ Smith said in an interview outside the courtroom. He spoke minutes after Veale granted a request to halt the sale until the parties have had an opportunity to put their arguments before the court.

Government communications officer Mark Roberts said today the territorial lands branch will not be disclosing how many bids were received, if any, while the court order remains in place.

Under the tender guidelines, parties were required to provide a 20 per cent deposit with their bids.

Roberts said this morning it wasn’t yet clear what would be done with the deposits received. In the case of the larger lot, for instance, the required deposit would be just over $400,000.

Cabinet spokesman Matthew Grant said today the premier - currently in Quebec City for a first ministers’ meeting - will not be commenting as the matter is before the courts.

Meanwhile, the bid deadline for five city-owned waterfront lots subdivided from the former Motorways trucking property closes today. The city will open the bids at 4 p.m. Friday.

Anderson said her Lake Laberge-area first nation has had a long-standing interest in the former Motorways property, because of its traditional tie to the waterfront.

But because the land in question was in private hands during land claim negotiations, it was unavailable for selection, she explained Wednesday afternoon.

Anderson said the first nation continued to express an interest in the land after it was sold to the city, and subsequently secured by the Yukon government for use during the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

The premier, emphasized Anderson, committed both verbally and in writing to discuss the sale of the lots to Ta’an and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation.

In an April 2005 letter, Fentie writes: “As I indicated at the time, the Yukon government is prepared to discuss the various options available for these two properties, including the possible sale of these lots, with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Ta’an Kwach’an Council, once the Canada Winter Games have been completed in 2007.“

In a follow-up letter in June 2007, Fentie reiterates his commitment to discuss the sale of the lots with the two local first nations once the city had transferred title to the government.

Anderson said the Ta’an only learned that the option of negotiating the purchase of the lots was off the table when Fentie called Chief Massie last month.

The first nation, she explained, has written the premier twice since his notification to express Ta’an’s continuing interest in the properties, but has heard nothing back.

Smith said the stated intent between the first nations and the government is not at all like some private property owner selling property to the highest bidder.

The government has an obligation to deal honourably with first nations, and Veale understands that obligation, he said.

Smith said while the Ta’an council is taking the lead in the court case, Kwanlin Dun is standing right by its side in full support.

The first nations, he said, will argue in court that the government did indeed have an obligation to discuss the sale of the land with the first nations.

Smith, a lawyer by trade, said Fentie will likely argue that as a public government responsible for the sale of public land through a public process, the government did not have an obligation to the first nations, and the first nations do not have a veto over the sale of those properties.

The Kwanlin Dun chief said the two local first nations, in partnership with the Carcross-Tagish First Nation and the Kluane First Nation, have an interest in waterfront development.