My name is Corky
Evans. I garden and farm in the Kootenays of B.C. Many years ago I was the
Minister of Agriculture.
I do not
understand popular culture or electronic communication. I have not learned to
do Facebook. What I have been told is that when people find something
interesting from someone they trust, they send it on to other people and in
this way it is possible to engage more people, faster, than ever before.
I have decided
that this technology that I do not understand may be the last chance we have to
influence the Government of B. C. not to dismantle the historical protection of
farmland where we live.
I am not going
to try to explain the issue or the history or the legislation that is being
debated in Victoria as I write. You do not have to know that stuff to know that
food is important and that land to grow food on needs to be protected from
being paved over. That is all you need to know. For forty years we have had
rules in B.C. that protected farm land pretty well. This week the Government is
trying to pass a law that will destroy the protection of farmland.
The Government
didn’t think up this idea. They got it from the Fraser Institute. You may have
heard of those people. They represent the largest Corporations and Banks in the
Province. They are not known for caring a great deal about public policy. They
will get richer paving farmland than by leaving it alone.
I think lots of
the MLAs in Victoria know this law they are debating is a bad law. The law is
opposed by Greens, New Democrats and Independents. They are, as I write, trying
to delay passage to give citizens a chance to learn what is happening and
react. I think it also opposed by some Liberal members who are too afraid to
speak publicly.
You can research
everything I am saying if you have time. If you don’t have time, and if you got
this letter from someone you trust, I beg you to take 5 minutes to try and stop
this law. I do not care, by the way, if it is stopped forever. I just want it
stopped until citizens understand what is happening and get to have a say
before the Government wrecks something of great importance for our shared
future.
If you have 5
minutes here is what you do: You look in the phone book for the number of your
MLA and call them and say you don’t want them to pass Bill 24. Or you send them
an e-mail by looking here to find
their address. Then you send this request to the people who trust your
judgement enough to read it.
This probably
won’t work. I am asking, though, because nothing else will. In a week or so we
will all know how it turned out.
Thank you for
reading this.
Sincerely,
Corky Evans
Winlaw
No comments:
Post a Comment