Agricultural Land Commission

Engagement Summary

The Ministry of Agriculture invited feedback from farmers and the public on the regulation of activities allowed on farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve from July 21, 2014 until August 22, 2014.
 
Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick met with representatives from the B.C. Agriculture Council (BCAC), the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) and the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to discuss the consultation process. Based on their feedback, 11 questions were identified as key areas for consultation. The questions focused on identifying what steps could be taken to protect valuable farmland and further support farming families and the farming sector.
 
Ministry staff, accompanied by representatives from the Agricultural Land Commission, met with more than 100 organizations representing the agricultural community and local government from throughout the province to hear their feedback and ideas. In addition to the face-to-face stakeholder consultation that took place in seven communities, more than 1,600 British Columbians participated in the on-line consultation process or made written submissions.
 

Engagement Timeframe:

July 21 to August 22, 2014
 

Input Received:

• 5,487 visits to the website
• 792 surveys submitted
• 883 written submission received via mail and email, of which 88 were unique, individual submissions. The balance of these submissions was made up of two form letters.
• 9 days of meetings in 8 communities across BC (Kelowna, Kamloops, Prince George, Fort St. John, Cranbrook, Nanaimo, Abbotsford, and by phone with Regional Districts of Kitimat-Stikine and Skeena Queen Charolotte).
• Over 100 stakeholder groups attended the meetings, representing local governments, farm and ranch organizations, individual producers and landowners, and agriculture and farmland advocacy groups.

Input leads to action:

• On September 30, 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture published a summary document on the completed consultation on potential changes to regulations within the Agricultural Land Commission Act (ALCA).
• Views expressed during the consultation process varied widely, from those not wanting to see any additional uses of land in the ALR without an application to the ALC, to those wanting to see significantly more flexibility in what landowners may do with and on their land. Views varied by region, by stakeholder group (farmer/rancher, non-farming ALR landowners, local governments, and others), and by question.
• On August 2, 2016 The Ministry of Agriculture announced a regulation that establishes the conditions under which ALR land owners do not need a permit from the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to host specific activities like commercial weddings, concerts or non-agriculture related festivals. Read about the conditions and details here.

Read the Agriculture Stakeholder Summary document