Whereas there is increasing concern that prime agricultural land will be used for cannabis production and have a negative impact on food security; And whereas cannabis has been grown on non-agricultural lands for decades including Crown lands: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the provincial government to develop an overall strategy that will support local cannabis producers and minimize the impact on prime agricultural lands; which could include leasing of Crown lands that would accommodate cannabis production.
Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development The Province is developing policy to support the availability of Crown land for cannabis cultivation. Crown land both within and outside the Agricultural Land Reserve ALR will be available, and the ministry will be accepting applications by spring of 2019. In July 2018, the Province amended the Agricultural Land Reserve Regulation to allow local governments to prohibit cannabis production in the ALR within their communities, unless it is grown in ways that preserve the productive capacity of agricultural land.