Whereas British Columbia currently has no legislation restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land in the province, resulting in concern among British Columbians that unrestricted foreign ownership of agricultural land in British Columbia may cause speculation in land prices and compromise the security and sustainability of food production in British Columbia; And whereas additional concerns resulting from unrestricted foreign ownership of agricultural land include: pressures on the limited protected agricultural land in BC; unmanaged lands with no local oversight leading to invasive species issues; whether the tax rate on non-resident ALR ownership should be different; and whether foreign ownership of ALR lands is in the long-term interest of the agricultural industry in British Columbia: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM support Recommendation 24 of the Revitalizing the Agricultural Land Reserve and the Agricultural Land Commission Report, December 2018 and lobby the provincial government to adopt policies restricting foreign ownership of ALR land in British Columbia, similar to those of other Canadian jurisdictions.
