In November 1968, I worked on a maintenance project in a large Vancouver sawmill. To avoid the worst of the morning traffic on the Patullo bridge, I left home early and regularly spent the half-hour before work on my own drinking coffee in the gloomy lunchroom. I arrived one morning to the sound of weeping …
OPINION
Food security demands out-of-box thinking
Food security has been a core public health program of the BC Ministry of Health since 2005. A food security model core program was released in 2006. The original program was updated in 2013. The paper outlines the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s definition of food security, and the four dimensions required to achieve …
No peace, no order
“Peace, order and good government” may well be the words fundamental to Canada’s national character. We say “sorry” at the drop of a hat, devoutly anxious that we might somehow have disturbed the peace and order of our neighbours. Our laws and regulations define what we can and can’t do, especially in matters regarding freedom …
BC farmers need more than a landbank
A conversation I overheard recently in a schoolyard while waiting to pick up my granddaughter seems to sum up a big part of the dilemma facing the Agricultural Land Commission and the production it is expected to foster within the Agricultural Land Reserve. One 30-something parent was excitedly telling another about a rural property they …
Hurry up and wait
Ottawa isn’t in a rush to disclose details on various programs designed to support the agriculture sector as it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal finance department’s latest bi-weekly report on emergency response measures indicates that $453 million in direct support to the farm sector will be available “shortly.” This includes $77.5 million for …