On the Saanich Peninsula and in other rural areas of the Island, the Agricultural Land Reserve is not to be trifled with, so the news that it is under review strikes fear into the hearts of many. The government must tread cautiously.
Bill Bennett, the provincial minister responsible for the core review of government services, has said the reserve and the Agricultural Land Commission are part of the review that aims to cut inefficiency and costs.
鈥淭here is certainly some potential here for some controversy. Nothing is off the table,鈥� he told a reporter.
He is certainly right about the potential for controversy. Supporters see the land reserve as the only thing that has kept sa国际传媒鈥檚 scarce farmland from being buried under housing developments and parking lots. Detractors see it as a sometimes nonsensical bureaucracy that impedes economic development and personal freedom.
Set up by the New Democratic Party government in 1973, the reserve today covers 4.7 million hectares of private and public land that has 鈥渢he potential for agricultural production.鈥� Its purpose is to preserve farmland and encourage farming, as only five per cent of sa国际传媒 land is suitable for agriculture.
The commission is best known for ruling on the many applications from people who want to take land out of the reserve or put it in. In 2010-11, it approved applications around the province to add 380 hectares and remove 117 hectares; on the Island, 20 hectares were included and seven hectares excluded.
When Bennett said that ministers were expected to take a 鈥渂old approach鈥� to the core review, people on both sides suspected that boldness could include radical changes to the land reserve.
The land commission is already in the midst of making changes that emerged from a review in 2010 and 2011 by chairman Richard Bullock. He found that the land base had eroded and the commission was losing the support of what he called 鈥渂ona fide farmers and ranchers.鈥�
He wants to shift the agency away from spending all its time reacting to applications to take land out of the reserve. Instead, he called for it to plan actively, put agriculture first, place a priority on the needs of bona fide farmers and ranchers, and crack down on misuse of reserve land.
Like all ministers, Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm got a mandate letter from Premier Christy Clark after the provincial election. It included this directive: 鈥淓nsure the Agricultural Land Reserve is working for British Columbia and propose any changes necessary. These changes must successfully balance our desire to protect valuable farmland while allowing for responsible economic development opportunities.鈥�
Add that instruction to the internal review and the core review, and it appears the land commission will be studied down to the last paper clip.
Bennett promised public consultations on the core review 鈥� not that he could do anything else. He told the many interested groups that they could put in their two cents鈥� worth when the legislature鈥檚 finance and government-services committee rolled into town during its travelling budget hearings.
That was news to the committee when concerned citizens started showing up at hearings to talk agriculture. After a few days, it became clear that the public would be heard later in the core review, but in the meantime, the finance committee would listen.
The alacrity with which British Columbians took up Bennett鈥檚 offer is a measure of how much they care about the issues surrounding agricultural land. With its emphasis on jobs and economic development, the sa国际传媒 Liberal government will feel a lot of pressure to ease the restrictions on farmland.
It should resist that temptation, for the sake of our future.
