VICTORIA – Farmers and ranchers on Agricultural Reserve Land will have more tools to protect their way of life as a result of proposed legislation, increased funding and other measures to improve the operations of the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), Minister of Agriculture Don McRae and ALC chair Richard Bullock said today.

“By improving the structure and sustainability of the ALC, we’re improving the lives of 20,000 farming families in British Columbia and the $9.6-billion agri-food sector our province supports,” said McRae. “The changes and support the Province is providing the ALC is a commitment to ensure the ALC will be a proactive organization dedicated to preserving farms, and expanding opportunities for producers.”

“These initiatives will enhance the commission’s ability to preserve B.C.’s agricultural land and encourage farming,” said Bullock.

“A stronger ALC means stronger operations for current and future B.C. farmers and ranchers, and a stronger agricultural industry for the tens of thousands of British Columbians working in it,” said Reg Ens, executive director of the British Columbia Agriculture Council. “We are encouraged to see the B.C. government taking steps that should help strengthen farming, and moving forward we anticipate working with the Province to implement the changes.”

Improvements to the ALC will be made in several areas:

·      Preserving farmland by placing a five-year moratorium on repeat applications for items such as excluding land from the ALR.

·      Sustainable operations through additional funding and provisions for increased revenue generation by the ALC.

·      Increased enforcement capacity through shared resources.

·      Strategic governance provisions give the chair additional oversight over regional panels and more time to focus on commission matters by hiring a CEO to look after administrative issues.

·      Upgraded online application tracking system to provide enhanced web services to clients.

·      Encouraging farming by working more proactively with local governments rather than simply reacting to applications.

·      A new minister’s bylaw standard regarding residential uses in the ALR.

This package responds to recommendations contained in two independent reviews of the ALC. One was prepared by the auditor general of British Columbia and the other by commission’s chair.

The chair’s report is available at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agri/alcreview.html

The proposed legislation is posted as part of Bill 19 at: http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/index.htm