Editorial: Proposed changes to the Ag Land Commission Act causes debate

Editorial:

Last week -- BC's Agriculture Minister, the Hon. Lana Popham, introduced Bill 15 entitled Agriculture Land Commission Amendment Act, 2019 - you can read the contents of Bill 15 here

Since then - BC Liberals MLA's like Mike Bernier/Dan Davies (Peace River North/South) and Mike De Jong have all decried Bill 19 with Mike De Jong, himself a farmer, taking a shot at local governments' by saying to Black Press's Tom Fletcher:

The local government can submit an application “if they want,” he said. “If they’re not too busy. When they get around to it. There’s no incentive.”

Fletcher's full article - click here

Meanwhile - Jordan Bateman, a former 2 term Langley Township Councillor weighed on the changes here

Finally -- Minister Popham defended the changes in an op-ed which you can read here

It's not surprising to hear opposition from BC Liberals on the proposed changes to the Agriculture Land Commission Act.  They have felt the need to have "flexibility" for land in the ALR for many years going back to the days of Bill Bennett/Pat Pimm (2014) - click here

Many of the changes are either administrative in nature or bring into line what has been practiced under "unwritten rules" for years...  Given local government land use bylaws (OCP's) in the creation stage involving the ALR can not proceed without approval of the Agriculture Land Commission -- there is sense in ensuring that ALR Exclusion or Non Farm use applications are collaborative in nature (local government land use rules/ALR Rules) before submitting them formally to the Agriculture Land Commission for consideration and there is power in having the local government and the Agriculture Land Commission collaborate on land use "together", especially on the question of Agriculture Land Reserve land...

As an Electoral Area Director whose Electoral Area has ALR land within it, I take strong exception to the suggestion of MLA De Jong that somehow local governments will stall on ALR applications, if a local government takes the stance of servant leadership - then they will consider it when it arrives & give it the appropriate due diligence and not "when we get to it" as MLA De Jong suggests... but I look forward to seeing how this plays out in the court of public opinion in the next number of weeks!

~SF

Editor's Note -- this opinion piece is my own and not representative of my elected position as Cariboo RD Area 'D' Director....