SEPTEMBER 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Political overhaul


targets major issues NDP moves quickly to address perceived Liberal shortcomings


by PETER MITHAM VICTORIA – BC’s new NDP


government moved quickly ahead of the fall sitting of the legislature, September 8, to address several issues on which the BC Liberals faced sharp public criticism. Site C, the dam that


threatens to flood thousands of acres of arable land in the Peace, and the equally controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline both came under immediate review, followed by aquifer contamination in the Hullcar Valley, near Vernon. Greater protection for


agricultural land is also on the agenda, as well as efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Any initiatives that directly


impact agriculture are likely to be the subject of public consultations, thanks to agriculture minister Lana Popham’s intention to resurrect a standing committee on agriculture which the previous government laid to rest. “We will have a new select standing committee on agriculture, which we’ve been calling on for a very long time,” Popham said last month. However, the direction of the new government is clear in the mandate letter Popham


received. The top priority is to “revitalize the Agriculture Land Reserve and the Agricultural Land Commission,” something that’s run through every major interview Popham has given since her appointment as agriculture minister. A key thrust for Popham is


to ensure the Agricultural Land Reserve receives equal treatment, both by eliminating two zones as well as restoring a single panel for the entire province. The system of six regional panels was one of the first changes the BC Liberals undertook in 2002. Popham’s mandate letter also instructs her to implement the agriculture- related planks of the BC NDP election platform, including: • establishing Grow BC to help young farmers access land and boost local food production;


• initiating Feed BC to increase the use of BC agri- food items in government facilities;


• reviving Buy BC to help producers reach markets in Canada and abroad;


• working with growers, processors, colleges and universities to develop a BC Food Innovation Centre. Other initiatives of concern


3


Newly appointed agriculture minister Lana Popham sat down with her federal counterpart Lawrence MacAulay in August to discuss funding to help farmers recover from this summer’s fires. SUBMITTED PHOTO


to BC producers will advance under environment minister George Heyman, who is charged with implementing sector-specific targets for reducing carbon emissions in support of a provincial target to be met by 2030.


Heyman and BC finance minister Carole James will develop a strategy to increase the carbon tax by $5 a tonne annually to meet federal targets. Capturing fugitive emissions – typically unintentional releases from natural gas storage and distribution lines – is also on the government’s radar. This news is not likely to sit


well with BC greenhouse growers, who were warned of this scenario at their annual


meeting in Surrey this past April. “We’re always a little fearful of the unknown, but our biggest concern is the carbon tax rebate because it’s just so significant our members,” Linda Delli Santi, executive director of the BC Greenhouse Growers Association, told Country Life in BC. Strengthening


environmental assessment protocols and reducing reliance on industry-hired experts – a matter that came to the fore in discussions regarding what information the province could disclose regarding the Hullcar aquifer – is also on Heyman’s agenda. A key issue for many growers that isn’t yet on


government’s radar is the troubled well registration and groundwater licensing process.


Neither Heyman, whose


ministry oversees the licensing process, nor Popham, have been briefed on the issue. Popham was unsure if there would be an extension of the licensing deadline in view of this summer’s wildfires. “I don’t know the answer to


that. I haven’t looked at it yet,” she told Country Life in BC on August 15.


Opposition agriculture co- critics Norm Letnick and Ian Paton were not immediately available for comment on the initial directions of the new government.


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