WHEREAS the BC Agricultural Land Commission has performed a singularly important role in preserving for agriculture the Provinces limited agricultural land base; AND WHEREAS the Agricultural Land Commission has experienced budget and resource cutbacks for several years such that the BC Auditor General has reported that the Agricultural Land Commission no longer has the resources required to fulfill its legislative mandate, and professional organizations such as the BC Association of Agrologists have expressed increasing concern about the ability of the Agricultural Land Commission to do its job of preserving BC agricultural land for agriculture: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM express its concern about the ability of the Agricultural Land Commission to achieve its mandate, and that resources to the Agricultural Land Commission be increased such that it is able to effectively carry out its mandate of preserving agricultural land for agriculture.
Provincial Agricultural Land Commission At the request of the Minister of Agriculture, during the Fall of 2010, the Chair of the Agricultural Land Commission conducted a thorough review of ALC operations, policy, regulation and legislation to ensure the ALC continues to effectively fulfill its mandate to support farm families and enhance the integrity and sustainability of agriculture in British Columbia. The Chairs report Review of the Agricultural Land Commission - Moving Forward: A Strategic Vision of the Agricultural Land Commission for Future Generations was submitted to the Minister of Agriculture in November 2010. The Province continues to be committed to the ALR and the protection of agricultural land to support farmers and farm families, and on November 14, 2011, government announced several initiatives aimed at improving the structure and sustainability of the ALC. Improvements to the ALC have been made in terms of transitional funding that provides the ALC with resources to transition to a more self-supporting operating model by 2013 and to improve information services and mapping. Legislative changes in place as of November 25, 2011 will discourage repeat applications to exclude agricultural land, enhance the ALCs enforcement capacity and encourage farming by allowing the ALC to focus on proactive land use planning with local governments rather than reacting to applications. Further details may be found at: http:www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca201111province-strengthens-agricultural-land… and http:www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca201111changes-strengthening-agricultural-lan…