Alberta Métis Non-Market Valuation Analysis

2011 Planning Institute of B.C. Award for Excellence in Research and New Directions in Planning

2010 Canadian Institute of Planners Award for Planning Excellence (Honorable Mention)

EcoPlan lead a groundbreaking series of non-market valuation projects aimed at determining compensatory losses resulting from petroleum development and other natural resource use on the territory of four Metis Settlements in Alberta:

These projects employed a common framework based upon a rigorous process of multi-attribute utility techniques to determined the market and non-market values of the study area. EcoPlan conducted interviews with Settlement members, field research and analysis of historical records to understand the impacts of development. Valuation workshops were held to formulate and define fundamental non-market values and establish numerical, descriptive and graphic measures to indicate impacts. Multi-attribute value and utility techniques were used to ascertain the significance of changes in these values. Following this process, the impacts to these values were then “priced-out” in dollar terms by a third-party expert, and a comprehensive monetary compensation figure was presented.

These analyses found that the Métis settlements were often greatly under-compensated by the companies conducting operate on their territory, both past and present. In 2007, the Gift Lake Métis Settlement took Devon Canada Corporation to the Land Access Panel of the Métis Settlements Appeal Tribunal for compensation where the tribunal ordered additional compensation be paid to the Settlement.