The firing of Agricultural Land Commission Chair Richard Bullock has already been called the latest step in the BC Government’s war on agriculture. Though he was appointed by cabinet, Bullock was the head of a supposedly “independent administrative tribunal dedicated to preserving agricultural land and encouraging farming in British Columbia.” He also opposed Bill 24, which weakened protections on 90% of the province’s agricultural land reserve (ALR). There are huge issues with oil and gas underneath some of the agricultural land in the Northeast corner of BC. On April 8, cabinet overrode the ALC to remove 4,000 hectares from the Agricultural Land Reserve in the Peace River Valley, so they could be flooded if/when the Site C Dam is built. Bullock defended agricultural lands against these developments. Yesterday, the government dismissed him in a 30-second phone call.
Firing Of Agricultural Land Commission Chair Richard Bullock
Bullock told Globe and Mail reporter Mark Hume, “From one point of view, getting fired for doing your job is maybe a badge of honor. I’m leaving this job with my head held high.”
“BC has just lost one of its strongest champions for agriculture,” wrote New Democrat agriculture spokesperson Lana Popham. “Usually knowledge & passion for farming would be an asset…for the BC Liberals it’s an impediment.”
BC’s Minister of Agriculture, Norm Letnick, said, “I do not want this decision to linger over the coming months, with rumor and speculation. That is not fair to anyone, least of all to agriculture in British Columbia.”
An Independent Tribunal
Yet, as Adam Olsen, Interim Leader of BC’s Green Party, explains, “The Agricultural Land Commission is supposed to be an independent tribunal. It is supposed to be independent of the Government and I think what we have seen over the last 24 or 48 hours is that it is not. If the criticism of Richard Bullock is that he just didn’t do what the government said, then we don’t have an independent tribunal.”
He added, “Rich Bullock has faced a lot of challenges right from the very beginning. He did a great job when he first came in, in assessing the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Agricultural Land Commission. He proposed some very important recommendations for the Agricultural Land reserve and from what I can see those have been frustrated by the government.”
Peace River Valley Has The Capacity
In her submission to the Joint Review Panel on the Site C Dam, agrologist Wendy Holm, M. Sc., P. Ag. stated, “Fifty-two percent of all foods consumed in BC are imported. Forty-four percent of the foods that can be economically grown in BC are still being imported. Fruits and vegetables are the most deficient categories of those food sources. The Peace River Valley has the capacity to produce a wide range of produce. The land to be flooded is capable of providing an annual, local, sustainably produced supply of fresh vegetables to over a million people.”
This potential, illustrated in the photographs on this page, has not been realized because the land has been overshadowed by the proposed Site C Dam for decades.
Some question the wisdom of removing land from the ALR when North America’s principal supplier of fruits and produce, California, is in the midst of a water crises. Food prices are already rising.
“Every time we go to the grocery store its’ just a little bit more. We are already starting to feel it. It is completely irresponsible for us to undermine the capacity of our province to feed our citizens. We must not rely entirely on other jurisdictions to provide our food, It is short term thinking and we must have a long term view on how we are going to feed ourselves,” said Olsen.
He believes the BC Liberal party has long wanted to diminish the ALC, but not enjoyed public support for this idea. Their recent actions are connected to an election promise to develop natural gas. They do not seem to realize that, with the onset of Climate Change, agricultural lands like the Peace River Valley could be very important.
“I worry that future generations will pay for our having diminished our agricultural capacity,” said Olsen.
A New Policy Framework For the ALC
The Minister of Agriculture said, “Our government is starting the implementation of a new policy framework for the ALC. Bill 24, our new legislation to modernize the operations of the ALC, help farmers grow their businesses, and support food production for future generations, is taking effect. We also have new regional commissioners in place. The Throne Speech highlighted that soon there will be a new Agrifood and Seafood Action Plan, and Bill 24 regulations are being finalized and will be announced shortly. This is the right time for new leadership of the Agricultural Land Commission.”
Frank Leonard Will Replace Bullock
Former Saanich mayor Frank Leonard will replace Bullock. Though Popham has been quick to point out Leonard has no agricultural background, he was a past co-chair of the Farm Assessment Review Panel. Olsen pointed out that, as mayor of Saanach for 18 years, Leonard also oversaw a largely agricultural community.
According to Letnick, “Mr. Leonard brings a fresh perspective, new ideas and extensive experience in both business and in government. Mr. Leonard’s extensive skill set, especially in local government and in business, will be an ideal complement to the regional panels.”
He thanked “former Chair Richard Bullock for his hard work and commitment. The B.C. government appreciates his efforts and contribution during his five years as ALC Chair.”
“I’m curious about his firing because Mr Bullock’s term was going to end in November. I know the minister said he wanted to go in a different direction, but It is hard to come up with a great reason to justify expediting that process just a few short months,” said Olsen.
As Bullock is to be compensated for his lost wages, British Columbians will effectively be paying for two ALC Chairs until the end of November.
Top Image: Photo Credit: Peace River produce by Larry Peterson
I’m certain Mr Bullock understands that Tribunals are created to uphold government policy (at arms length from the Minister). So when Mr.Bullock didn’t uphold government policy – he was given the boot. It’s hard to see how Mr. Bullock could be surprised.
Many people trust a tribunal to be just and fair and make a legal decisions based on time honoured principles of law. . But, people can be very naive (including me at one time). Tribunals don’t work for a just outcome – a tribunal has the appearance of fairness to make decisions that are vastly unfair.
A tribunal can and will scapegoat anyone or group who gets in the way of government supported policy and that includes the “Right to Farm” law which is really just a “Right to Trespass with impunity” law.
I sure hope people use our judicial system to challenge the “rights” of every tribunal to break perfectly good and just laws in order to uphold government policy. Tribunals work to get big money going to “governments of the day” and for that, government policy supports international corporatism.
Tribunals became popular in Germany when their parliament was prorogued and their leader made immoral and unconstitutional laws legalizing government’s right to target, isolate, oppress, imprison and finally murder certain minorities…. in Canada and other right wing countries world wide, we are only just beginning to see the results of tribunal injustice.
Today 80,000 “migrants” are languishing in Canadian prisons. New security bills are on the table, people are visibly homeless, children are hungry and gang violence keeps communities unsettled. We are now into our 3rd aggressive illegal war.
Injustice has been growing steadily with the use of tribunal’s and now we are looking at full blown fascism.
It’s time to wake up Canada.