| Copyright © 1999: Provincial Agricultural Land Commission, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
This is not the official version. |
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Copyright in the electronic version of this discussion paper belongs exclusively to the Province of British Columbia. This electronic version is for private study or research purposes only.
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University of British Columbia Sustainable Development Research Institute, Vancouver, B.C. October, 1998
1. INTRODUCTION
The Agricultural Land Commission has launched The Visioning Project:
"Looking Ahead to the Next 25
Years". As part of marking The ALC's 25th
anniversary, a number of people have been asked to examine various
trends, implications for agriculture, and possible scenarios and
responses. I was asked to address the elusive issue of how to
balance the interests of local communities with the needs of B.C.
As a former Premier of the province, I am someone who has bruises
and battle scars from 25 years of addressing controversial questions
in B.C. From 1972 to 1986 I had to deal with the issue as an
Alderman (as we were then called), then Mayor and Regional Director
of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. From 1987 to 1996
I faced the other vantage point, across the local/provincial divide
as a Leader of the Opposition and then Premier.
Ironically from both perspectives the issue remained the same
- how do we in B.C. preserve the strategically vital agricultural
land in a Province that is over 90% mountains and forest; when
the fastest growing population areas of the Lower Mainland, SE
Vancouver Island, and the Okanagan also contain some of the most
fertile agricultural land. I've seen real estate agents disguised
as farmers in overalls descend on Victoria's Legislative to protest
the establishment of the ALR in 1972 - 1973. As both an Alderman
and GVRD director I listened to lawyers from high priced downtown
Vancouver law firms argue that an "exception" be made
of their client's land with Class 1 soils, in order to exclude
it from the ALR. When Bill Vander Zalm, as Minister of Municipal
Affairs, abolished regional planning and sought to undermine the
ALR in the 1980's I remember some local governments changing
our planners names to "development officers". How well
I recall the Spetifore Lands and being the deciding vote to say
'NO' to their removal from the ALR for urban development. Then
as Premier in the 1990's I had Minister of Agriculture Bill Barlee
sort out the "gold rush fever" to build 170 golf courses
on ALR lands. As well, tree fruit growers around Kelowna wanted
out of the ALR, and of course the infamous 6 Mile Ranch debate
in 1997 and 1998.
Having fought through all these controversies, I have two observations.
First, we've been very successful in preserving agricultural
land - 93% of the GVRD ALR lands still remain protected. Second,
the pressures on the ALR, the eternal and never ending tension
between local and provincial goals, will stay intense. BC's population
will double from 4 million now, to 8 million in thirty to forty
years. Most of that population will settle on the lush strip
of SE Vancouver Island; the Fraser River Delta surrounded by mountains,
forests and sea; the fragile and water scarce Okanagan Basin.
So within these two observations I'll describe some of the trends
in governance for local and provincial governments, the challenging
role of provincial agricultural land preservation that the Agricultural
Land Commission will face during its next 25 years.
2. TRENDS IN GOVERNANCE FOR LOCAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS
Some trends are coming to conclusions such as the implementation
of deficit reduction targets by the federal and provincial governments.
The massive federal cuts to health, education and social services
have ended, thus there is a more stable and secure environment
for medicare, post-secondary education and social services. The
approximately $80 billion ($10 billion in B.C.), the federal government
cut from its 50 - 50 cost shared programs, led to great trauma
for 10 years throughout Canada.
Other initiatives like the Commission on Resources and Environment
(CORE) led strategic regional plan process, now replaced by Land
and Resource Management Plans and the Growth Strategies Act process
are in mid-course, and will require another several years to reach
conclusion. The Province of BC's Plan "Investing in our
Future" was published in 1995. The B.C. Plan, based on a
number of Premier's Summits, working groups and task forces called
for a partnership of the public and private sectors. Governments'
role was to be good stewards of our natural resources, to provide
a well trained and skilled work force, to invest in transportation,
health, education, and other infrastructure. The private sector's
role was to provide economic entrepreneurship, investment and
jobs. The slow-down in the world's economy, particularly in Asia,
on which B.C. relies for 35% of its export market, will push back
some goals such as lower unemployment, lower taxes and debt repayment.
Other initiatives in the early stages are:
Forest Renewal B.C. - a $2 billion
investment in natural resource based communities to help move
to a more sustainable, value added forest industry and more diversified
economies in the north and interior of the province.
The Columbia Basin Trust - a $500 million
project to restore ecological, economic and social well being
in the Kootenays and South-eastern B.C.
Federal and Provincial efforts to build a sustainable
fishery, particularly salmon, and improved salmon spawning streams
and rivers, with an emphasis on habitat protection and restoration.
First Nations Treaty Negotiations - On August 4,
1998 the Nisga'a First Nation initialed a treaty agreement which
will soon be ratified by the provincial and federal legislatures.
As of May 31, 1998 there were 51 First Nations participating in
the BC treaty process. These treaty negotiations, which will lead
to First Nations self government, should provide, by some estimates,
$9 billion of direct investment, and up to $30 billion of spin-off
economic activity throughout B.C. over the next 15 to 20 years.
The Georgia Basin Ecosystem Initiative - to manage the environmental effects of growth in South West BC and North West Washington State as this bio-region grows from 6 million people to approximately 10 million over the next 30 to 40 years. Four agreements have been signed by B.C. Premiers and Washington Governors between 1992 and 1995, to form the basis of the Georgia/Puget Basin Ecosystem Initiative. Hopefully this initiative should be underway shortly.
Municipal Act changes - to give local governments
more autonomy and authority. Bill 31, the Local
Government Strategies Amendment Act, 1998 was introduced into
the Provincial Legislature June 4, 1998 and was proclaimed September
30, l998. Bill 31 is just the first stage of Municipal Act reform.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs officials indicate that Bill 31
goes as far as a Province can go, in expanding municipal corporate
powers, without a constitutional amendment or special recognition
of municipal governments in the Constitution. One example of positive
benefits from this legislation is the change from specific to
general enabling powers to allow municipalities to enter into
agreements (as Alberta and Manitoba have done and Nova Scotia
is contemplating). Another example is that municipalities can
now enter into public and private partnerships, subject to certain
checks and balances. Next year more changes are contemplated
dealing with services, regulatory, financial and accountability
provisions. The impact all these changes will have on municipal
relationships with the Agricultural Land Commission and land use
decision making in the ALR, is unknown at this time.
Definition of the Provincial Interest - Dean Moura
Quayle, of U.B.C.'s Faculty of Agriculture recently tabled her
report on the definition and assessment of the 'provincial interest'
clause in the Agricultural Land Commission Act. The Government
of B.C. is now reviewing the report and recommendations. My opinion
is that "the provincial interest" will be defined in
a more specific and clear manner, thus restricting the provincial
governments' discretion and flexibility, to over-ride Agricultural
Land Commission decisions. At the same time, the Minister of Agriculture
is preparing an Agri-food Policy to help address farm viability
issues.
3. COMMUNITY vs. REGIONAL/PROVINCIAL INTEREST: The Provincial
Agricultural Land Protection Role.
So given the relative success of the ALR, the inevitable, intense,
never-ending tension between local and Provincial goals, and the
above trends for the next 5 to 10 years I'll now describe three
pressures on farmland and the ALR. These are: urban sprawl, agribusiness
economic trends and potential water shortage and water quality
problems, particularly in the Okanagan Basin. Urban Sprawl and Pressure on Limited Resources:
Unfortunately, Greater Vancouver is a relatively low density
metropolitan area with half the population in twice the area of
Greater Toronto. As well Toronto has a far superior transportation
system of subways, street cars, buses, and commuter trains. However,
the GVRD's "Liveable Region Strategy", combined with
the ALR's success in retaining 85% of the agricultural land, has
mitigated sprawl to a considerable extent. The recent designation
of forest lands into the Forest Land Reserve, the 1995 Lower Mainland
Nature Legacy (which quadrupled park and wilderness areas from
20,000 to 80,000 hectares), the second Liveable Region Strategy
under the Growth Strategies Act of June 1995, plus the Province's
commitment to build 4 new LRT lines and new HOV lanes , give
lower mainland residents a chance to contain growth on existing
urban designated lands. The Fraser River Regional District is
also preparing a growth strategy. However urban growth, and traffic
congestion are still pressing issues. Car ownership increased
44% over the past ten years, as population grew 22%. Greater
Victoria and the rest of SE Vancouver Island have faced similar
pressures in areas like the Saanich Peninsula, Greater Victoria,
Greater Nanaimo, and Comox-Courtenay. The recent economic slowdown
and moderating migration, give us breathing space. Good growth
strategies can now be created under The Growth Strategies Act.
The Forest Land Reserve (which was driven mainly by concern over
the conversion by forest companies of forest lands to their "highest
and best use", i.e. condominium and resort developments),
the Vancouver Island Protected Area Strategy and Greater Victoria
Commonwealth Trust 1994 Parks and Wilderness Legacy will all help
contain urban sprawl. The pressure will remain though on prime
agricultural land adjacent to burgeoning urban areas.
The Okanagan Basin faces some extraordinary challenges
of urban sprawl and congestion, water shortages and quality,
and threatened agricultural land. Sprawl and congestion are particularly
urgent issues in and around Kelowna. This city is a prime negative
example of growth happening in an ad hoc way. The miles of strip
malls north of Kelowna's spotty downtown, and the congestion along
that section of Highway 97, cries out for a rethink of Kelowna's
future. As well another bridge and highway bypass are urgently
needed to unscramble some of the mess. Add to these growth headaches
the problems of increased pressures on limited resources: water
shortages, milfoil, "beaver fever" contamination, growing
sewage and water treatment needs, mudslides, and irrigation requirements
for agriculture. Add the problems the tree fruit growers are
facing from unfair competition from their U.S. counterparts, and
the ongoing conversion of orchards into acreage estates and you
have an even bigger challenge, particularly with the aggressive
real estate development industry hungrily eyeing these lands for
more "gated" communities. Hopefully the Okanagan Land
and Resource Management Plans and regional growth strategies will
help the Okanagan residents come up with a "smart" growth
strategy. Agriculture and urban growth may be able to survive
together. Agriculture and the Environment:
Agribusiness, particularly in the Fraser Valley, is a very large
generator of jobs and economic growth. However, the problems
of animal and human waste, and contamination of the Sumas aquifer
and other underground water systems on the Canadian and U.S. sides
of the border, both by rapid agribusiness growth and septic fields
for "rural estates" are major environmental problems.
The Institute of Resources and the Environment at U.B.C. has
done an excellent job of documenting these worrisome problems.
4. CONCLUSION
The Agricultural Land Commission and ALR have achieved major
success over the last 25 years. However, the intense tensions
between local and provincial goals, urban and agricultural clashes,
fueled by the growth of B.C. from 4 to 8 million people, will
continue in the next 25 years. These pressures will be particularly
acute in the three major high growth areas of the province: South
East Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and the Okanagan Valley.
The Agricultural Land Commission has had an important, challenging
last 25 years. Just hold on to your hat for the next quarter
century! |