This week’s provincial budget delivered on a long-time wish of the agriculture sector by nixing the carbon tax rebate program in favour of a point-of-sale reduction similar to what exists in other jurisdictions. The change is one the BC Agriculture Council and greenhouse growers have been urging for years, most recently during the Ag Days …
Agricultural Land Commission
ALC rejects Teacup appeal
An appeal by the District of Kent regarding the exclusion of 43 acres from the Agricultural Land Reserve for residential development has been rejected. A four-page decision issued June 10 by the Agricultural Land Commission states that the district’s request did not meet the criteria for triggering a reconsideration, and that, “in any event, is …
Whistleblowers at FIRB, ALC protected
A phased expansion of the province’s whistle-blower legislation means that staff who call out bad behaviour at two high-profile farm organizations will now enjoy protection. Staff at the BC Farm Industry Review Board as well as the Agricultural Land Commission now enjoy whistleblower protections under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which allows employees of public-sector …
Abbotsford updates farmland policies
Abbotsford has resumed efforts to update municipal agricultural policies, bylaws and regulations, and is preparing a framework for on-going bylaw compliance for ALR lands. The work was postponed pending the outcome of the province’s initiative in 2018 to revitalize the Agricultural Land Commission and Agricultural Land Reserve. Abbotsford was three-quarters of the way through its …
Province allows secondary homes
The province has ended more than two years of uncertainty for property owners in the Agricultural Land Reserve by allowing them to have a secondary residence without seeking permission from the Agricultural Land Commission. “The new residential flexibility will provide ALR property owners with the relief of housing security,” said Meghan McPherson, a Comox Valley landowner …
Agassiz land exclusion refused
BC’s Agricultural Land Commission has stood firm against a bid by the District of Kent to exclude four parcels totalling 43 acres for residential development. Often referred to as the Teacup properties, the parcels were designated a residential reserve in Kent’s official community pan in 2001. But in 2005, the ALC told the district “that …