A Message from the Wildsight Team.
Long-term protection of our food producing lands is critical to ensuring
British Columbia’s food security. Since serious changes were proposed to the
Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) earlier this year as part of Bill 24, our
farmland has been under threat.
Now, in the middle of summer—harvest time for most BC farmers—the government
has opened an engagement process on the proposed changes.
Please
take action and let the government know you want all of BC farmland to remain
protected.
It is critical that despite the bad timing, we weigh in on this issue.
The engagement process closes on August 22. It’s time to let
the government know that you do not agree with some of the proposed changes to
the ALR— a system of farmland protection that has been lauded and recognized
around the world. A system that works.
The proposed changes maintain strong farmland protection for the proposed
Zone 1 (Vancouver Island, the South Coast and the Okanagan) but in Zone 2 (the
rest of the province), there would be new rules allowing non-agricultural uses
of agricultural land, including oil and gas development, industrial and
recreational development as well as subdivisions. The entire Kootenays as well
as 90% of our province is in Zone 2.
Please
take action. Stand with BC farmers by sending an email to the government. Let
them know that you don’t agree with the new zoning. Strong protection of
farmland must remain in place for the Kootenays and all of BC.
After local MLA Bill Bennett’s statement that to eat local “where I come
from, you’d have to eat hay,” Kootenay farmers sent two of our own to Victoria
to prove him wrong. Erin Harris from Kootenay Meadows in Lister and Oliver Egan
from Edible Acres in Windermere delivered a strong message opposing the changes,
bringing with them a cornucopia of Kootenay products to display on the lawn of
the BC Legislature.
The high quality of agricultural lands in the Kootenay region was recently
re-emphasized by the Chair of the Agricultural Land Commission: “the majority of
prime agricultural lands are situated in the Interior, Kootenay and North
regions” (all regions included in the new Zone 2). Soil experts have publicly
opposed the proposed changes to the ALR and former Minister of the Environment
Joan Sawiki calls it “short-sighted” as it would significantly weaken
“the most successful agricultural land preservation program in North
America.”
This is our legacy and our children’s future.
Ensure food security for all British Columbians.Take
action by sending an email to the government. Let them know that the
proposed changes to the ALR, specifically the newly proposed zones, do not help
farmers but leave them vulnerable to outside interests.
If you have any questions, the Wildsight team would be happy to discuss this
issue further with you. You can reach us at office@wildsight.ca or
by phone at 250.427.9325.
Sincerely,
Robyn Duncan and the Wildsight Team
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Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society provides grassroots leadership and an inclusive process, with a voice for all community members, to ensure that our community grows and develops in a way that incorporates an environmental ethic, offers a range of housing and transportation choices, encourages a vibrant and cultural life and supports sustainable, meaningful employment and business opportunities.
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