WHEREAS the Cabinet Order in Council No. 148 excluding land within the Site C reservoir is the largest exclusion in the 43-year history of the Agricultural Land Reserve; AND WHEREAS historically, there have been other Cabinet Orders for exclusion which were subject to much more public input both for and against prior to a decision being made; AND WHEREAS this decision was made without public input or application: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of BC be requested to rescind Order in Council No. 148 until there has been adequate public input and respect shown for the legal requirements required to apply for removal of lands from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Ministry of Agriculture Under Section 7 of the Environment and Land Use Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council has the authority to exclude lands from the Agricultural Land Reserve ALR on the recommendation of the Environment and Land Use Committee ELUC. The ELUC approved the recommendation to remove the lands in mid-March 2015, agreeing that further review by the Agricultural Land Commission ALC would duplicate the review on the impacts on agriculture that took place as part of the provincial environmental assessment process on Site C, which included a public hearing process by the independent Joint Review Panel JRP. The impacts of Site C on agricultural lands were thoroughly and publicly reviewed as part of the JRP process that informed the subsequent environmental approval of Site C. In December 2013, during the JRP process, the Provincial Government made public a letter to the Chair of BC Hydro and the Chair of the JRP of its intention to take appropriate action to ensure the requirements related to ALR lands would not apply to lands potentially affected by Site C should the project receive environmental approval. Further review by the ALC would be a duplication of that process, resulting in increased costs to taxpayers and possible delays to the project. The JRP had a very comprehensive process in place and was free to seek out information from whomever it thought could offer input. In fact, the JRP asked the ALC for input on the project. The review of Site C impacts on agriculture included a review of loss of agricultural land, effects on individual farm operations, changes to agricultural economies, changes to local food production and consumption, the agricultural mitigation measures proposed by BC Hydro, the views of the participants, and the ALR considerations. The JRP concluded that permanent loss of the agricultural production in the Peace River Valley bottomlands impacted by Site C is not significant in the context of British Columbia or western Canadian agricultural production. More than 99 percent of Class 1 to 5 agricultural lands land capable of crop production in the Peace Agricultural Region will not be affected by Site C. The BC Environmental Assessment Certificate issued for Site C in October 2014 contained as conditions BC Hydros proposed mitigation measures for agriculture, including the implementation of a 20 million agricultural compensation fund. The conditions outline a consultation process to be followed regarding the fund, and BC Hydro will work with the Ministry of Agriculture to undertake the consultation. Individual farm mitigation plans will be implemented to manage for project effects and support the continued operations of the majority of farms near Site C.