A gas station chain has been operating one of its fuel stops on reserve land with an invalid lease for nearly 30 years, a B.C. Supreme Court decision has revealed.The Super Save Gas Station on Green Mountain Road near Penticton, B.C., pictured last year. A B.C. Supreme Court justice recently ruled the station was operating without a valid lease for nearly 30 years.
The case concerns land held by Penticton Indian Band member Adam Eneas, who operated a gas station just off Highway 97 at 101 Green Mountain Rd. In response, Super Save wrote that it "does not intend to leave the property unless directed by a court of competent jurisdiction" and subsequently sought an injunction to stop its eviction. The landowners replied that Super Save was trespassing on reserve land and in contravention of theof the Indian Act entails that only the federal Indigenous relations minister can issue leases to land held by a member of an Indian reserve.
While Morley did not rule on whether either parties' arguments were true, he noted the "lease agreement" did not state that Eneas's property was on reserve land, and was based on precedent Super Save had used generally for non-reserve land.