Richard Bullock, the now former chair of B.C.’s Agricultural Land Commission, alleges he was fired by the province because they wanted him out of the way while they implement changes to how agricultural land is preserved.

The government announced in a news release on Thursday that former Saanich mayor Frank Leonard has been appointed as the new chair of the independent commission. Bullock was not mentioned in the release.

But Bullock, who had been chair for five years and whose term wasn’t up until November, says he was informed over the phone that a change in regulations was coming, and the government felt they needed new leadership.

Bullock says he’s not sure what the new direction is, but he suspects it won’t bode well for the retention of farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

“The government spent a lot of time going around the province last summer and fall…they heard from a whole host of people all across the province,” Bullock told Daybreak South on Friday.

“I don’t think they expected to hear what they heard, which was, ‘keep the ALC in place, make sure it has the tools to do the job, and basically leave it alone.’

“I’m not sure they wanted to hear that.”