2 BUY BC will help communities recover from wildfires


The former government’s commitment gave NDP agriculture minister Lana Popham an ideal building block for the Buy BC program. “We’re fulfilling any obligations that we had with Buy Local,” she says, referring to the BC Liberals’ version of Buy BC. “[It] was already in the budget, so we’re launching it under Buy BC, and the restaurant industry and farmers are really happy.” While the initial


announcement was made at Sandhill Winery in Kelowna, Popham plans to formally launch Eat Drink Local in the Cariboo in May 2018. She said the program is one way government can encourage traffic to and economic activity in communities impacted by this summer’s wildfires. “We’re thinking of doing that in the Cariboo to make sure that we try and build up some of those communities


again that have been hit so hard,” she says. Quesnel, for example, wants to develop a “flavour route” tourists can take. It would be one example of the kinds of initiatives showcased via Eat Drink Local. “There’s some great


restaurants there that are sourcing locally,” she said. “[We want] to get the people in the town to support those businesses but also to draw British Columbians up there who might be avoiding it because of the fires.”


Details coming A full-scale relaunch of Buy


BC has yet to happen, however.


While the current


government is honouring funding commitments made by its predecessor, the start of consultations in the run-up to budget day in February 2018 will determine the scope of government programming in the year to come. Nevertheless, Popham said Buy BC will be revived and revamped to give farmers and food processors a broad- based platform on which to


do specific marketing projects,” she says.


Buy BC was eliminated in 2002 when the BC Liberals under Gordon Campbell cut $1.8 million from the agriculture budget “to increase industry self-reliance and reduce dependence on government funding, and eliminate subsidies to businesses and organizations.” The cut also cost the BC Agriculture


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rare. The province suspended the arrangement at the end of October pending review of the program. BCAC executive director Reg Ens applauds the new government’s move to use existing budget resources to relaunch Buy BC but he would like to see politics out of marketing altogether to ensure consistent market development for businesses. “We would like to see something that was less political, [that] doesn’t change with every change in government,” he says. Government funds should build the BC brand as a whole, he said, not just individual brands like the Buy Local program did. Properly structured, this is where he


grow their businesses. “Buy BC is more of a mass-


marketing program for all products that are grown and processed in BC. Buy Local was more of a piecemeal [program] that people would apply for and get money and


Council (BCAC), BC Fairs and Exhibitions Association and the BC Wine Institute their funding. BCAC has managed Buy BC on behalf of the province since 1977, though use of the logo since 2002 has been


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • NOVEMBER 2017 nfrom page 1


thinks the revived Buy BC program could help both domestically and internationally.


Public trust Moreover, a fundamental


“We would like to see something that was less political, [that] doesn’t change with every change in government.”


Reg Ens, Executive Director BC Agriculture Council


part of supporting BC’s brand – recognized around the world for its pristine origins and high quality – is public trust. BCAC was disappointed the previous government didn’t allocate dollars to this in the last budget and he hopes the new government will.


“Working to improve


public trust or social licence is foundational to a BC brand,” he argues. “Some of the funding should go to help farmers, ranchers and processors make improvements to keep up with changing societal expectations.”


Reviving the Buy BC logo


will give consumers an easy way to distinguish made-in- BC products and support local growers, Popham says. “We know that people still


recognize that logo even though it hasn’t really been active for 16 years. It was one of the most recognizable agriculture symbols that we had,” she says. “There’s already consumer buy-in and recognition.”


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reading it, and hopes the extra time the province is taking underscores a desire to get it right. “There’s no industry disappointment,” he said. “I would prefer the timeline is one that sees the analysis be fully and carefully completed rather than just trying to rush it out. … When it comes to an issue like this, there are


many different facets for analysis.” BC agriculture minister


Lana Popham made a similar point shortly after the review’s announcement. “Of course there’s a lot of


finger-pointing at the agriculture industry,” she said. “But we have to consider all areas of pollutants, and potential pollutants.”


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