Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm is consulting the conflict-of-interest commissioner about his future. Consultation isn鈥檛 necessary. He should resign from cabinet.
Pimm was reprimanded by the Agricultural Land Commission when it refused to pull 70 hectares of farmland out of the Agricultural Land Reserve near Fort St. John so Terry McLeod could turn it into rodeo grounds and an RV campsite. Pimm had lobbied the commission on McLeod鈥檚 behalf while he was an MLA and after he became agriculture minister.
The commission wrote that his interference gave the impression he was 鈥渁ttempting to politically influence the commission.鈥�
Pimm had legitimate avenues to pitch his case by persuading his cabinet colleagues to declare the land in the 鈥減rovincial interest鈥� and override the commission. Instead, he lobbied in person, wrote letters and had his staff pester the commission.
In July, the commission鈥檚 executive director chastised Pimm鈥檚 ministerial assistant for asking for information about the decision before it had been released. Clearly, Pimm and his staff have trouble recognizing boundaries.
Although Pimm has asked the conflict commissioner for guidance, Premier Christy Clark defended her minister:
鈥淚 understand that the ALC is absolutely an independent body. Its independence must be respected. At the same time, MLAs must be able to bring forward concerns and issues on behalf of their constituents as Mr. Pimm did.鈥�
Respecting its independence means that local and provincial government officials must stick to official channels if they want input, rather than lobbying the ALC, as did Pimm and Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman.
The side-effects of interfering with the commission were demonstrated by what happened next: McLeod went ahead and started building the rodeo grounds in defiance of the commission鈥檚 ruling 鈥� and the ALC did nothing.
The commission should have stepped in right away. Provincial law allows for fines of as much as $1 million and as much as six months in jail for anyone who contravenes a commission order. Its failure to act undermines its authority and that of similar bodies.
The commission鈥檚 inaction, coming on top of a memo from Pimm recommending absorbing the ALC into the ministry and on top of Pimm鈥檚 personal intervention on behalf of McLeod, makes it appear that the commission is cowed. Whether it鈥檚 true or not, the suspicion chips away at the credibility of the commission.
And the chipping continues.
A letter to Agricultural Land Commission chairman Richard Bullock from the deputy minister of agriculture raises more concerns about the government鈥檚 intentions. The letter from deputy Derek Sturko advises Bullock: 鈥淕iven the current core review process that is under way, I believe it would be prudent, during the period of the core review of the ALC and [Agricultural Land Review], to defer any ALC decisions that would fundamentally affect the ALR (for instance, inclusions or exclusions of major blocks of land).鈥�
Pimm maintains the letter was just a reminder that the commission is part of the government鈥檚 core review process and isn鈥檛 a stop-work order. It doesn鈥檛 read that way. It reads as if the deputy is telling an independent body to 鈥渄efer鈥� its decisions.
The government and its agencies aren鈥檛 supposed to twiddle their thumbs during the core review. The people鈥檚 business has to go on, and that should include the commission鈥檚 work of making thoughtful decisions about farmland in the best interests of all British Columbians. It鈥檚 a difficult job made more difficult by Pimm鈥檚 interference.
Generations of parliamentarians have known what to do when they step over the line 鈥� they resign.
Pimm should follow their example.
