This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
The ALR — when all is done, not said Up Front


By Bryden Winsby “W


atch what we do, not what we say.” That advice, or warning, depending upon


your point of view at the time, came from Richard Nixon's first attorney- general, John Mitchell. It was delivered to reporters and civil rights activists at the onset of the Nixon presidency in 1969.


Another version — and I don't know who said it first, but have seen it attributed to Brazilian soccer coach Joel Santana: “Judge me not by what I say but rather by what I do.”


And then of course, there’s the well- known “Actions speak louder than words.”


So what are we to make of what’s been said about and done with the Agricultural Land Reserve and its recently-ousted chair, Richard Bullock? Mr. Bullock makes no bones about his suspicion there will be further dismantling of the ALR, which, as most of our readers know very well, was created by the NDP in the early 1970s to


protect the province's farmland from industrial and urban development.


And he doesn’t like some of the changes that have resulted already from a core review of the land reserve and


commission, not the least of which was dividing the ALR into two zones. Under the new system, Zone 1, which covers prime farmland in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island, will see very few changes (so far), but Zone 2, covering farmland in the north, the Kootenays and the rest of the Interior, will see farmland protection rules loosened to allow for more non-farming activities. Mr. Bullock's relationship with the government started out on very friendly terms. He was appointed twice to the Farm Industry Review Board, then as chair and CEO of the land commission. Things subsequently soured, not helped when Mr. Bullock and former ag minister Pat Pimm were at odds in 2013 over an application to develop a rodeo ground on a tract of agricultural land in Mr. Pimm’s Peace River constituency. The province's conflict-of-interest- commissioner absolved Mr. Pimm of


suggestions he had meddled in support of the application.


Current ag minister Norm Letnick says the time has come for new leadership and he insists that protecting farmland and expanding agriculture in B.C. is still paramount.


The government uses the term “independent administrative tribunal” to describe the ALC, the inference being that it can and should function without political interference. Yeah, well, kinda, sort of... For reasons that I still don’t understand, other than political payback and keeping the ‘independent’ ALC in line, the government has appointed former Saanich mayor Frank Leonard to replace Mr. Bullock. He’ll be chair and CEO for a few more months, but is charged with finding a new CEO then being part-time chair. Mr. Leonard is long on municipal experience and running tire stores, but his agricultural background is nowhere near that of Mr. Bullock’s. Should it be?


Actions, not words, will tell...


4


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2015


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36