The Province is Selling Crown Land . . . Again

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The Province is Selling Crown Land . . . Again

1. TO BE DISCUSSED on CBC BLUE SKY SHOW Mon. Oct.6 noon hour (See below)

2. Let the Premier know that you are not happy with the decision to resume the sale of Crown Agricultural Lands and the criteria used to assess their value.

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture has ended its two-year moratorium on selling crown land. Eighteen parcels of public land totaling 4,471 acres have been posted by a private auction company who will be selling them to the highest bidder later this month. Auction starts Oct. 7, ends Oct. 28.

Since 2007, the Saskatchewan government has sold almost 2 million acres of Crown land that previously belonged to the people of this province. That’s more than twice the size of Prince Albert National Park.

Already 85% of land south of Saskatchewan’s forest fringe is privately owned or leased under terms that exclude public access, effectively enclosing the land and excluding Indigenous rights of access.

Almost all the parcels being liquidated this fall contain the kind of natural habitat—wetlands, aspen woodlands and pastures—that when privatized will become vulnerable to the pressure for landowners to increase their land value by converting them into cropland. Acres for wildlife will be lost and untold volumes of carbon will be released into the atmosphere. See the lands for sale here. [ https://www.mcdougallauction.com/auctio ... 445ADCDB01 ]

Some of the parcels have been granted Crown Conservation Easements, which in theory would protect their natural features from being bulldozed or drained. In practice, it is easy for a new landowner to either ignore or violate an easement, first, because no one polices easement lands to watch for violations and, second, because the relevant legislation, the Conservation Easement Act (see S.10), leaves plenty of latitude for terminating a conservation easement at some point in the future. All that is required is a written agreement between the grantor and the holder. Landowners can also apply to the Court of Queen’s Bench by pleading that the terms of the easement are causing them severe hardship.

In addition to the natural landscapes being placed at risk, Public Pastures - Public Interest believes that by liquidating Crown lands to private interests without meaningful and equal participation of Indigenous people in the decision-making process, we are violating our Treaty agreements and our mutual responsibilities to one another and to the land.

The public needs to have a better understanding of the Crown Land Ecological Assessment Tool (CLEAT), designed in this province. What criteria are used to decide if land is ecologically valuable enough to warrant having Conservation Easement protection? Even 20 acres of grass or aspen is valuable for wildlife and climate mitigation. However, CLEAT makes its decision for assigning a Conservation Easement based on the overall quarter section. It does not separate out smaller portions of land. Thus, valuable smaller portions of land are not protected. [ https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/ag ... t-strategy ]

Former PFRA and SPP pastures are not being sold at this time. But the protection of remaining prairie in other locations is essentially needed.

With these concerns in mind, please write, email or phone the Premier’s office (details below) and let him know that you are not happy with the decision to resume the sale of Crown Agricultural Lands and the criteria used to assess their value.

These lands belong to all Indigenous and non-indigenous citizens, to the wild creatures who live there, and to our grandchildren—they are not properties that the current government is free to sell to the highest bidders.

You can contact Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe via phone at 306-787-9433, email at premier@gov.sk.ca or by mail at

The Honourable Scott Moe
Premier of Saskatchewan
226 Legislative Building
Regina, SK S4S 0B3
CANADA

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND SOURCES

Crown Land Sales Moratorium
[ https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/ ... se-auction ]
[ https://www.mbcradio.com/2023/08/sask-h ... e-auctions ]
[ https://globalnews.ca/news/9861817/sask ... sultation/ ]

Govt resumes sale of Crown Agricultural Land. The Sales Policy Agricultural Crown Land was issued in March 2025, and then reissued in July.
[ https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/ag ... crown-land ]

For more information link to our website.
[ https://pfrapastureposts.wordpress.com/ ... and-again/ ]


BLUE SKY
Blue Sky, Mon. Oct. 6, 12 noon. (Episodes are recorded for later listening.)
[ https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-189-blue-sky ]