Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, the New Democratic Party’s agriculture critic, was forced to withdraw a comment after he called the government’s proposed changes to the agricultural land reserve “deceitful.”
The provincial government plans to divide BC’s Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) into two zones which could open much of the Interior and North’s farmland to development.
Under the new system, Zone 1, which includes farmland in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Okanagan, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, would see few changes. Zone 2, however, which covers protected farmland in the North, the Kootenays and the Interior, would see rules loosened to allow for more non-farming uses.
Agriculture minister Pat Pimm, MLA for Peace River North, said the changes will make better use of the land.
Simons was forced to withdraw his “unparliamentary” comment by speaker Linda Reid or face being ejected from the legislature.
He said the BC Liberals had not properly consulted the public before deciding to implement major changes and the changes could have profound impacts on how agricultural land is protected in the province.
“I really think it is deceitful that [the government] pretends the changes to the Agricultural Land Commission are simply minor,” Simons told the Peak. “These are the most significant changes proposed since its inception in 1972.”
Simons credits the fact that there is farmland left in the Fraser Valley to the success of the commission. “Without the ALR we would have lost most of the Fraser Valley by now,” he said. “We recognize that the farmland is a provincial resource and to divide it up is to make it really unequal.”
Under the new system the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) will remain an independent body, said Bill Bennett, the minister in charge of the government’s core review process. Bennett serves as minister of energy and mines and MLA for Kootenay East.
“These improvements achieve our goals of supporting the ALC in its role as independent decision maker, protecting our high quality farmland and still supporting farmers to get ahead,” he said in a media release Thursday, March 27.
Simons said that it will be harder for the ALC to protect land with these changes especially in areas in the North where oil and gas companies may want to use the land for drilling.
“The priority of preserving agricultural land needs to remain the priority,” he added. “Even when things might be more beneficial in the short term you’ve got to protect agricultural land. It’s not about balancing interests.”
