One of the many problems presented to B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham by angry farmers this week was that the NDP government鈥檚 new regulations against dumping fill on farmland have included gravelling driveways to keep them passable in bad weather.
Under fire about elderly people or grown children not allowed to stay on family farms, the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) shutting down non-farm activities including a restaurant and a women鈥檚 addiction recovery centre, and other aspects of her overhaul of farm legislation, Popham has made a concession on the gravel issue.
鈥淚n rural B.C. there鈥檚 often cases where farmers need to add gravel onto their driveways annually, because of weather conditions and climate up in the rural areas, and the driveways are long. So they would need to bring on fill onto their properties, onto their farms, in quite large amounts,鈥� Popham told reporters at the legislature this week.
鈥淚n our legislation we actually tried to stop dumping of garbage and fill on farmland. That doesn鈥檛 work in rural B.C. because it鈥檚 an annual process for them. So we are now requiring a letter of intent every time someone brings new soil or fill onto their property.鈥�
The latest round of ministry consultations heard about this problem and Popham said she is fixing it, by getting rid of the letter of intent requirement and the fee that goes with it.
鈥淲e heard from rural B.C. that this would mean paperwork annually for them, and a fee annually for them. And so while we鈥檙e doing our regulations, we鈥檙e going to actually change that,鈥� Popham said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to tweak it, because that was great input, and that鈥檚 the great thing about doing the regulations while you鈥檙e consulting, because you can hear stuff, and then change it.鈥�
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More than 100 rural people descended on the B.C. legislature this week to push back on Popham鈥檚 changes, particularly the elimination of 鈥渮one two鈥� farmland outside the prime farm areas of the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan and Popham鈥檚 home turf of southern Vancouver Island.
A major objection is housing restrictions. Popham鈥檚 revamped ALC restricts additional housing to farm worker use, and that has created cases where multi-generational farmers can鈥檛 provide accommodation for aging parents or young farmers taking over the operation.
AgMin says there is 鈥渇lexibility鈥� for additional living space on family farms under her new regime
鈥� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Christine Watts of Loon Lake spoke to the rally, describing her life on a small ranch where her husband has lived for 62 years.
鈥淲e looked after, on the farm, both of his parents until just a few days before they passed away, each of them,鈥� Watts said. 鈥淎nd we were hoping to do the same now as we age. And that doesn鈥檛 look like it鈥檚 going to be able to be the case, unless my son lives in our basement.鈥�
Popham said some of the protesters are farmers, but others are living on agricultural land but not farming. She said there is a procedure with the new ALC, centralized in Burnaby as part of the overhaul, to review additional home applications.
鈥淵ou can put an application into the Agricultural Land Commission, and you can have a non-adhering permit, so you can apply to have an additional home,鈥� Popham said. 鈥淏ut of course the ALC uses the agricultural lens when they鈥檙e approving that.鈥�
Popham also cited the example of house size restrictions aimed at preventing 鈥渕ega-mansions鈥� from being build on protected farmland. Big homes are popular with berry farming families in the Lower Mainland, so regulations were adapted to fit that need, she said.
On the Fraser Valley Gleaners recovery centre for women in an Abbotsford farmhouse, Popham was unmoved.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an Agricultural Land Commission decision,鈥� Popham said. 鈥淭hey are an independent tribunal, and so I can鈥檛 interfere with any decision that they do. But they鈥檙e also very reasonable, and so two years is quite a bit of time to find a new accommodation.鈥�
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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