Bill 15 could be delayed

Bill 15 is facing tough questioning from opposition MLAs during committee hearings this week, raising the chances that third reading could be delayed until this fall.

The bill proposes several amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission, including consolidation of decision-making in a single provincial panel rather than the six regional panels that exist today. It also eliminates the right of landowners to apply to exclude properties from the Agricultural Land Reserve that the commission oversees.

While BC agriculture minister Lana Popham has charged Bill 15 critics with spreading misinformation, she admitted under questioning from Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier on May 28 that landowners are losing their rights as persons under the bill.

“The minister has heckled us, said that’s not true, said they will be able to,” Bernier said. “What the minister just said is she’s doing housekeeping to remove 30.1, and 30.1 is the actual wording that allows a landowner to apply.”

Questioning from Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong also extracted an admission from Popham that an “advanced early draft report” received on April 24, 2018 – three months before the interim report of the advisory committee appointed to recommend changes was made public – was the basis for the legislation. Moreover, the initial request for legislation was made June 15, 2018 – six weeks before publication of the interim report recommending such legislation.

The bill has been debated for approximately five hours this week, and more debate is expected, with Bernier suggesting it could continue after the summer recess.

“There are going to be a lot of questions to take on in this bill,” he said.

The legislature adjourns on May 30. [BCMA PHOTO]

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8 hours ago

Forty-six regions in BC are eligible to participate in the federal livestock tax deferral program, announced yesterday, more than anywhere else in the country. The program allows producers who downsize their breeding herds by 15% to defer reporting the proceeds until the following year, when they buy replacement stock. But after multiple years of drought, the BC beef herd is cruising 25-year lows and some producers are calling for more support to maintain and rebuild their herds. For more, see: [www.countrylifeinbc.com/bc-leads-livestock-tax-deferrals/]

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4 days ago

After weeks and weeks of no moisture, there's rain in Kelowna today. While much more moisture is needed over the coming weeks and months to reduce drought conditions and the air smells of wet campfire, the slow, steady rain is very welcome for fruit grower#BCAg#BCAg ... See MoreSee Less

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5 days ago

The first Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust Grassland Set-aside Variety Trial Field Day was held at Delta's family-owned Tecarte Farms, August 27. Co-owner Bill Bates and DFWT executive director Christine Schmalz welcomed more than 35 people to view seven acres planted to different grassland blends specifically chosen to rejuvenate the soil and support the farm's blueberries. For the Bates family, it was time to try something different following the decline of the field's blueberry bushes over the past several years. "We tried everything, and nothing worked," says Bates. The blueberries were removed in May and the grassland crops planted about a week later.

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Bessette Creek is the latest watershed hit with a temporary fish protection order this year as the province moves to protect returning Chinook salmon. A total of 131 surface and groundwater users must cease drawing water immediately, with forage producers, greenhouses and nurseries impacted. "Declining flows in Bessette Creek reached record lows in early July 2026 and have remained below the minimum level required to support fish population survival," says the province. Bessette producers have embraced voluntary cutbacks, scheduled irrigation and other measures to reduce water use, and are also waiting on funding to boost water storage infrastructure. They're the second group of producers hit with a provincial order this year. Salmon River irrigators were told to top watering earlier this month following a reprieve to address wildfire risk. Growers in both the Salmon River and Bessette watersheds are urging the province to support new water storage infrastructure in advance of next year.

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There is a problem... having lived in the salmon river ( silver creek ) area, I remember a fish biologist telling family members that salmon only "survive" in high iron content creeks, they do not "thrive".... salmon river ( silver creek ) is a very high iron content, would stain clothes brown when i would use bleach... So don't expect high salmon numbers off of that creek , even in ideal situations...

I just wish they would take an interest in CHASE CREEK....went bone dry...100% of trout abd other species died...smell was terrible from rotting fish. Understand this has happened many times in the past. Chase Irrigation District totally responsible for this disaster. Now fishermen are complaining about major drop in water levels at Pillar Lake.

They could not mismanage things worse than they have. It's impossible for them to. The fact that farmers that we need for our animals are now suffering the consequences our governments have not protected us from, is absolutely fucking wild.