The Commercial Leases with Canada for the “Akers 1 Lands” and “Akers 2 Lands”.

The Blood Tribe has authorized the creation of the Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust to manage the development. The Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust will incorporate the Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust Corporation to enter into the Head Leases on its behalf.

There will be seven trustees. The majority of trustees must be Blood Tribe members. At all times, no more and no less than three of the trustees must be members of Council. One trustee must have ten years of experience in the commercial leasing industry in Alberta and one trustee must have ten years of experience in the commercial property management industry in Alberta. Until the lands are fully developed, one trustee must have at least ten years of employment with the commercial property industry.

The Subleases are the subleases between the Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust Corporation and Blood Tribe Entities for the various phases of the development.

Blood Tribe entities are entities wholly owned and controlled by the Blood Tribe.

The purpose of the Nominal Rent Referendum is to determine whether Blood Tribe members approve the charging of nominal rent by Canada Head Leases and in subsequent Subleases with Blood Tribe Entities.

Fair market rent is the most probable rent that certain lands should bring in a competitive and open market, reflecting all conditions of the Lands. The rent payable pursuant to the Head Leases was appraised in 2025 at an average of $4,717.00 per year or $3,116,899.26 cumulatively.

Fair market rent is determined by property appraisals conducted from time to time.

Fair market rent is paid to Canada and returned to the Blood Tribe at the discretion of the Minister of Indigenous Services.

Nominal rent is a very limited rent charge — in this case, $1.00 rent payable for the entire term of the respective Head Leases and Subleases.

The charging of nominal rent in the Head Leases provides the Blood Tribe with greater flexibility and control in how it structures its economic arrangements. It reduces Canada’s influence over the Blood Tribe, eliminates the Blood Tribe’s obligation to subsidize rent during development, and allows the Blood Tribe to make use of profit derived from the lands without delay.

The charging of nominal rent in the Subleases allows the phase Blood Tribe Entities to develop their respective portions of the lands without the obligation to finance and pay fair market rent during development.

In a vacuum, the charging of fair market rent will guarantee that the lands return market rent to the Blood Tribe. However, until the lands are producing rent from third-parties, that rent will either be subsidized by the Blood Tribe or financed. This means that the Blood Tribe will either need to pay itself or pay interest to pay itself.

No. Nominal Rent only limits the rent payable to Canada under the Head Leases and the rent payable by Blood Tribe Entities under the Subleases to $1.00. The charging of nominal rent will not limit the economic potential of the lands or the revenue derived from the lands by the Blood Tribe.

The mandate of the Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust is to reasonably maximize the sustainable generation of revenue from the Akers lands.

Trust agreements allow for very comprehensive and specific requirements. If those requirements are not followed, then personal liability arises for the trustees.

The Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust will first re-invest the profits into the development of the Akers lands and, once the lands are developed, will pay all profit to Chief and Council of the Blood Tribe on behalf of the members of the Blood Tribe.

No. In fact, the Designations require that fair market rent be charged in subleases to non-Blood Tribe Entities and in any sub-subleases.

Trusts are contractual entities. The Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust Corporation is a corporate entity and will act on behalf of the Blood Tribe Akers Development Trust.

Canada requires that First Nations make the decision to proceed with nominal rent separate from the decision to designate lands.

Canada’s requirements for confirming nominal rent permitted a combined referendum.

This will be a consideration at the time that sublessee entities are created.