12 Criteria for Crown tenure still unclear


by TOM WALKER VICTORIA – Twenty BC salmon farms


are in limbo after the province failed to renew their tenure licences June 20. The farms, all within the contested


Broughton Archipelago, now operate on a month-to-month basis. Meanwhile, the province has announced new requirements for tenure. BC agriculture minister Lana Popham announced June 20 that, beginning in June 2022, Victoria will grant tenure under the province’s Land Act only to fish farm operators, “who have negotiated agreements with First Nation(s) in whose territories they propose to operate.” The BC Salmon Farmers Association, a member of the BC Agriculture Council, says this signals a significant policy shift with respect to Crown tenures. “The change in consultation


requirements appears to be significant. We haven’t been involved in discussions about this change nor been asked for any feedback on how it might impact our members,” says BCSFA spokesperson Shawn Hall, declining further comment. “We have just received this decision and are still reviewing it.” While the timeline gives fish farmers who don’t already have agreements with First Nations time to develop them – the majority already have participation


agreements – future requirements are not clear. Popham has so far refused to outline what those agreements should look like, saying, "I'm not going to speak on behalf of First Nations. We have set up the framework for that to be done.” The result is a number of unanswered questions. With both hereditary chiefs and


elected councils, who speaks for a First Nation? In situations where traditional territories overlap, which nation has final say? If there is a change in the nation’s governance, could the new leadership cancel the tenure? Can current agreements be the foundation for the new tenures? Across the entire province, 75% of all salmon produced is already under partnership with First Nations, according to the BC Salmon Farmers. Marine Harvest, which has the most tenures in the hotly disputed Broughton Archipelago, points out that they have 15 agreements with First Nations in whose territories they operate. “We were not asked for our opinion


before this policy was developed, nor were we asked for our feedback on the impacts to our business,” says Marine Harvest Canada managing director Vincent Erenst. “In the Broughton, given the position of First Nations, this policy change may have a significant impact on


coastal communities. We will do everything we can to make sure that’s not the case.”


Hall notes that salmon farming ranks second to dairy as BC’s largest agriculture sector. “Just over 92,000 metric tonnes were


produced in 2016 and that contributes more than $1.5 billion to the provincial economy. Farmed salmon have been BC’s most valuable agriculture export for the last seven years,” he says. Still, BC has formally adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and that requires the “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous people for development and resource extraction in their traditional territories. While some feel it gives First Nations a veto, Popham has frequently insisted that is not so. The fall-out could be far-reaching. Grant Huffman, chair of the BC


Cattlemen’s Association’s aboriginal affairs committee, says UNDRIP is a key issue ranchers face. “The provincial government has made UNDRIP their guiding light and that quite likely will be a challenge for us,” he told BCCA’s annual general meeting. “We are not sure how it will be administered.” Huffman says UNDRIP’s consistent application across ministries will be important to providing certainty to producers.


PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Jack Reams P.Ag. Agri-Consulting


v BC Farm Business Advisory Services Consultant v Farm Debt Mediation Consultant v Organic Consultant & Inspector v Meat Labeling Consultant


Fax: 604-858-9815 email: marlene.reams@gmail.com CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEED


Phone: 604-858-1715


BC FARM & RANCH REALTY CORP.


Toll free 1-888-852-AGRI


Buying or Selling a Farm or Acreage?


Call BC’s First and Only Real Estate Office committed 100% to Agriculture!


GORD HOUWELING Cell: 604/793-8660


GREG WALTON Cell: 604/864-1610


View over 100 listings of farm properties at www.bcfarmandranch.com Looking for HELP


on your farm? We do the work for you! Agri-jobs.ca


Our business is helping your business GROW, since 1974. Connecting employers with the right employee! Contact us to find out how we can fill your position:


www.agri-jobs.ca | Phone: 604-823-6222 | Email: info@agri-labour pool.com AGRICULTURAL


LABOUR POOL


TheBestDealsInBC.com 3Agroup@Sutton.com 604.491.1060


Established on two continents for over 33 years!


Contact us today for more information about our exclusive Guaranteed Sales Programs * Some conditions apply.


Cell: 604-302-4033


Expert farm taxation advice: • Purchase and sale of farms


• Transfer of farms to children • Government subsidy programs • Preparation of farm tax returns • Use of $1,000,000 Capital Gains Exemptions


Chris


Henderson CPA, CA


Nathalie


Merrill CPA, CMA


Dustin


Stadnyk CPA, CA


Approved consultants for Government funding through BC Farm Business Advisory Services Program


ARMSTRONG 250-546-8665 | LUMBY 250-547-2118 | ENDERBY 250-838-7337 TOLL FREE 1-888-818-FARM | www.farmtax.ca


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • JULY 2018


McClary’s leased to Aquilinis


by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – One


of the province’s biggest growers has signed a 10- year lease to operate the McClary Stockyards Ltd. property in Abbotsford. Vancouver’s Aquilini


family, which farms more than 5,000 acres of blueberries and cranberries in Pitt Meadows and partners with the Kooyman Group of Companies, was set to take charge July 1. “They’re going to take


over the facilities here … [at] the end of the month,” Jono Rushton of McClary’s confirmed to Country Life in BC last month.


Rushton did not


provide further details but industry sources indicate the deal is for 10 years. McClary’s, which raises, hauls and sells livestock, will operate under the aegis of Chilliwack Cattle Sales Ltd., the province’s largest dairy operator. The business is a good


fit for the Kooyman Group, which has extensive interests in BC’s cattle sector. In addition to its dairy business, it operates Westcoast Holsteins, which specializes in cattle genetics, and owns meat processors AGM Beef Farm Ltd. and Meadow Valley Meats Ltd. Besides growing berries in Pitt Meadows, the Aquilini family owns the Vancouver Canucks and operates Golden Eagle Aquaculture, a land-based fish farm in Abbotsford, and a dairy farm in Sunnyside, Washington. It also owns nearly 2,000 acres of vineyard in Washington, plus a share in a large Saskatchewan grain farm. McClary’s launched in


Don’t forget to renew your subscription!


We’re not like other publications. We send only ONE reminder! Not sure when your subscription expires? Email or call us.


subscriptions@countrylifeinbc.com 604-328-3814


Vancouver in 1959. Country Life in BC’s long- time beef columnist, Tom Baird, had introduced founder Art McClary to the beef business in 1948. McClary and his wife Marj moved to Abbotsford in 1970 and the business eventually passed to his daughter Sheila Rushton and her sons David and Jono. Sheila Rushton died in July 2017.


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  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40