There is a clear need for an
organization which can provide freehold owners with access to
the information and education they require in order to properly
deal with their valuable resources. There is also a clear need
for an organization that can represent the collective interests
of freeholders in regulatory and judicial proceedings in a
professional manner, and that can lobby for greater fairness for
freehold owners.
Since inception, FHOA has struggled
with the issue of how to fill these needs.
Since inception, we have: built
this web site; published eight detailed newsletters; conducted
fourteen information seminars; provided more than three hundred
technical service requests to members; and answered thousands of
phone calls and e-mails. FHOA has also participated in various
government-industry task forces, discussed the plight of
freehold owners with innumerable regulatory, government and
industry representatives, and intervened on behalf of freehold
owners in a complex issue of law before Canada’s highest court.
FHOA’s accomplishments to date are
entirely the result of the efforts of volunteer members.
Volunteers stuff envelopes for mailings; arrange meeting rooms
and staff registration tables at information seminars; phone
members to advise them of meetings; draft newsletters and web
site content; fill technical service requests; and answer phone
and e-mail queries. I am a volunteer as are all of the other
board members. We give of our time and energy because we
recognize that freeholders have historically been subjected to
injustices. We seek only fair treatment from the energy
industry.
As of April, 2004, 2700 individuals
representing more than 8000 freehold owners have joined the
Freehold Owners Association. We need to grow the membership but as
membership grows so does the administrative burden borne by our
volunteers. Concurrently, the acceptance of FHOA as a legitimate
voice for freeholders has increased the burden on those of our
volunteers with the technical knowledge needed to properly
represent us.
FHOA needs money to hire the
administrative and technical staff we need to properly fulfill
our mandate.
We do not want to raise the modest
fees we charge for membership, information seminars or technical
services as this could restrict access in the common situation
of elderly freeholders living on fixed income.
The Alberta Government has
historically collected billions of dollars in freehold mineral
tax directly or indirectly from individual freehold owners. We
believe it would be appropriate for the Alberta Government to
return to FHOA a tiny portion of the freehold mineral tax which
individual freeholders pay each year to the Government. We have
attached a copy of a funding proposal delivered in September to
Alberta Energy. We have also attached a letter delivered to the
members of the Conservative caucus in early October. In this
letter we ask each MLA to advise us by e-mail as to whether or
not they support Alberta Energy returning 2/1000th of the
freehold mineral tax collected annually from individual
freeholders by Alberta Energy to support FHOA.
We have been told by a number of
members that the only thing wrong with FHOA is that it wasn’t
formed 50 years ago.
The plight of freehold owners is
obvious to anyone who cares to become informed. It is part of
our elected representatives’ job to be informed. The real
question for our elected representatives is whether they are
prepared to continue to collect hundreds of millions of dollars
directly and indirectly from our pockets and look the other way
for the next half century.
We will post the responses we
receive from members of the Conservative caucus on this site.
The ‘Freeholder-Friendly’ FHOA Lease
November 2006 - The Race to be Alberta Leader
Calgary Herald - Race to be Alberta Leader 
November 2006 Open Letter from Else Pedersen
Else Pedersen - Open Letter
September 2004 Funding Proposal
Funding Proposal
Table of Contents
Attachment One - FHOA Directors
October 2004 Letter to Conservative Caucus
October 2004
Letter to Conservative Caucus
