Bill Bennett says the Agricultural Land Commission is not in danger, but a document made public last week has made the commission鈥檚 supporters justifiably nervous. It should make all British Columbians nervous.
Bennett, the minister in charge of the sa国际传媒 government鈥檚 core review, spent most of a day last week trying to calm the fears that flared after news of the cabinet document emerged.
The land commission was created in 1974 to protect sa国际传媒鈥檚 limited and dwindling farmland. It oversees 4.7 million hectares throughout the province and decides on applications to put land into or take it out of the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The memo from Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm sets out several proposed changes, including moving the commission into the ministry, so it is no longer an arm鈥檚-length tribunal. Local governments would have power to make some decisions on land use. It also proposes giving some of the commission鈥檚 powers to the sa国际传媒 Oil and Gas Commission, which sounds as wise as putting Charlie Sheen in charge of a convent.
The province would be divided into two zones. One would include Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan, and the other would cover everything north and east of the Okanagan. The two zones would have different rules, with less protection for agricultural land in the north and east.
At several points, the memo refers to the need to 鈥渕odernize鈥� the commission, which seems to be code for whittling away its ability to protect farmland. Bringing the commission into the ministry is referred to as modernizing, and reflecting the government鈥檚 economic-development agenda in its decisions is also referred to as modernizing. Bennett says, however, that the memo is just bringing an issue to cabinet for discussion. The government will protect the province鈥檚 farmland, he says.
Despite his assurances, it鈥檚 not surprising that groups such as the sa国际传媒 Food Systems Network are worried. The network is an alliance of farmers, producers and community food groups. Co-chairman Brent Mansfield says: 鈥淭his proposal will dismantle the Agricultural Land Commission, and along with it, the Agricultural Land Reserve.鈥�
The network says 11 per cent of sa国际传媒鈥檚 farmland is in the proposed south and west zone, while 89 per cent is in the north and east, so almost 90 per cent of our agricultural land would be under a set of rules that puts more emphasis on development and energy extraction. The connection to pipelines and gas drilling is obvious. Meanwhile, the other 11 per cent is constantly being squeezed by developers who want to cover it with residential, commercial or industrial buildings.
That pressure is one reason the government should be cautious about turning decisions over to municipal councils. They are much more susceptible to the temptation to pull land out of the reserve and build on it, especially if the government has made it clear that economic development is a high priority.
Indeed, the memo鈥檚 references to the government鈥檚 economic-development priorities are the biggest red flag. The land reserve and the commission were created because the pressures for development were so intense in the early 1970s. They are even more intense now.
As New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix pointed out, the land reserve was created by an NDP government, but it has survived three Social Credit premiers and more than a decade of sa国际传媒 Liberal rule. Those 40 years suggest that all three parties saw the value in the reserve or decided public support was too strong to let it be killed.
The reserve system has flaws, but after two recent reviews, the commission is working on changes.
sa国际传媒 needs the Agricultural Land Reserve.
