Provincial Agriculture Minister Lana Popham has strong words for Surrey council for dissolving the citysa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渓ongstanding and well-respectedsa国际传媒� Agriculture and Food Policy Advisory Committee.

sa国际传媒淚 am disappointed that the city leadership did not seek dialogue nor public input prior to the planned committee re-assignment,sa国际传媒� Popham wrote in a letter to Surrey council on Feb. 23. sa国际传媒淚t was brought to my attention than not even the members of the AFPAC were aware of the imminent dissolution of the committee.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淧lease be reminded that municipalities with the intention to restrict or prohibit agriculture within a farming area may need to become sa国际传媒榬egulatedsa国际传媒� under Section 553 of the Local Government Act,sa国际传媒� she warned.

Popham said committees such as the AFPAC provide sa国际传媒渋nvaluablesa国际传媒� input to civic governments to make sure planning and decisions are consistent with a local governmentsa国际传媒檚 obligation to support agriculture in accordance with the Agricultural Land Commission Act and the Local Government Act.

Lana Popham, B.C.sa国际传媒檚 agriculture minister. (Photo submitted)

Popham noted that as Surrey is the largest city geographically in Metro Vancouver, with more than 9,000 hectares in the Agricultural Land Reserve, it is sa国际传媒減oised to play a role in supporting the primary production of safe local produce and bolstering food security for the region.sa国际传媒� That said, she told council itsa国际传媒檚 been her experience that sa国际传媒渁ctive involvement of local producers in the fabric of local government is the foundation of a vibrant and economically sustainable agricultural sector.sa国际传媒�

On Dec. 7, the Safe Surrey Coalition majority on council voted to dissolve the AFPAC and fold it, along with the Environment Advisory Committee, into a new Agricultural, Environment and Investment Committee with Council Allison Patton as its chairwoman, Councillor Mandeep Nagra as its vice-chairman, and also Councillor Jack Hundial plus three community members.

The agriculture minister called the new joint committee sa国际传媒渃oncerningsa国际传媒� and noted that ministry staff advise her that having only three experts between the two disciplines sa国际传媒渨ill not likely provide adequate representation for Surreysa国际传媒檚 diverse agricultural community.sa国际传媒�

Patton in reply said itsa国际传媒檚 hard for her to comment sa国际传媒渁t the momentsa国际传媒� because she hasnsa国际传媒檛 spoken to city staff yet about Pophamsa国际传媒檚 concerns. sa国际传媒淚 may have skimmed the letter but Isa国际传媒檓 not sure it was brought to my attention, no, not yet.sa国际传媒�

The new committee has met twice, Patton said. sa国际传媒淭he good news is this committee doesnsa国际传媒檛 want to do anything to restrict agriculture, so I think that in time perhaps she can observe the committee and perhaps adjust her viewpoint over time if she feels thatsa国际传媒檚 warranted for her,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淎 lot of the farmers want improved productivity, and local farm-to-table and produce and other products, so wesa国际传媒檙e looking at how can we help these farmers to do that.sa国际传媒�

Popham was alerted to the situation by Surrey Councillors Hundial and Brenda Locke, of the rival Surrey Connect slate.

sa国际传媒淚f the province decides to regulate Surreysa国际传媒檚 farmland, itsa国际传媒檚 huge,sa国际传媒� Locke said.

sa国际传媒淚 can tell you Langley, Abbotsford, Delta and Kelowna I think have all been regulated and I know theysa国际传媒檙e not happy. I know for sure Langleysa国际传媒檚 trying to get out of it but itsa国际传媒檚 a forever deal, like it was 20 years ago that they regulated them.sa国际传媒�

Hundial told the Now-Leader that people in the agriculture sector need to be aware of these recent developments in Surrey.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a pretty hard stand for her to take on it,sa国际传媒� Hundial said of Popham, sa国际传媒渂ut I think thatsa国际传媒檚 partly because she sees the risk of not having the public engaged in developing policy that involves farmland. I mean the city is a product of the province and I think people sometimes tend to forget that.

sa国际传媒淪o for the minister to come out and issue really such a stern letter should be a clear indication that I donsa国际传媒檛 think shesa国际传媒檚 too happy with the decision made by the mayor, and secondly, there will be oversight provided,sa国际传媒� Hundial said. sa国际传媒淥nce she invokes those powers, under the Act, it makes things a lot more complicated and laborious for applications coming out of the city absolutely to deal with agriculture and also the decision-making process around when you start looking at land and the uses, or ALR land.sa国际传媒�

Hundial added that Pophamsa国际传媒檚 concern about having only three experts on a committee dealing with both agriculture and the environment is sa国际传媒渁bsolutely spot-on.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淓ven the three councillors, myself included, that are on that committee, none of us are experts in the ALR,sa国际传媒� the retired Surrey Mountie noted. Patton is a naturopath and Nagra is a businessman.

sa国际传媒淎nd you can only have three individuals from the farming community, you know, Surrey is so much larger than that,sa国际传媒� Hundial said. sa国际传媒淲hen you look at one third of our land mass is ALR, it makes it very difficult to bring that level of expertise here.sa国际传媒�

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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