Who to blame for farmland loss?

This month's Country Life editorial should ignite a spirited discussion about the loss of so much prime Delta farmland. It really hits the core of the issue: contrary to popular opinion, developers are not the ones to blame for farmland loss in B.C.

"There is no development without policy decisions, period." 

The editorial features the recent Tsawassen Mills mall announcement and the troubled legacy of Gordon Campbell as we consider agriculture in the "age of scarcity."  It is wonderfully done.

Here is a copy :

Campbell's Folly

The pro-farmland activists who often cast land developers in the role of villain in this province have, unfortunately, had it wrong all along.

Yes, the developers are surely out there, sniffing out unused land like a school of hungry sharks. But they cannot develop any land without the approval (tacit or otherwise) of government agencies whose very task it is to protect those lands. Clearly, there is no development without policy decisions, period.

Therefore it came as no surprise last month that the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) is proceeding with the development on agricultural land acquired under the terms of a treaty settlement reached with the province in 2006.

The villain in this instance is not Property Development Group of Vancouver, working with TFN on two mega malls. The land up for development includes 512 acres formerly in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Together, the mails will offer 1.75 million square feet of shopping space- only slightly smaller than the Metrotown complex.

The villain is in fact our current Liberal government, which has used ALR land as just another bargaining chip to further its agenda. Former premier Gordon Campbell had a penchant for "back of the envelope" initiatives. The surrender of valuable Delta farmland is a perfect case in point. Under this government's term, a further 1,000 acres of ALR land in Delta has been excluded as part of infrastructure and development initiatives (highways), and industrial development. This is in addition to the loss of untold acres of prime farmland carved off in other parts of this province.

TFN maintains that this new development will build a sustainable future for its people - no longer managing poverty, but to manage future wealth. No one could argue that, and we wish them well. The irony with this situation is that this province has also decided that agriculture is at the bottom of the agenda. The only time agriculture is acknowledged is when a photo op arises for Premier Clark – when she goes on about good, wholesome, fresh food for B.C. families.

This government's actions seem to fly in the face of current world-wide trends in agriculture. While this province seems to base its choices for agriculture on political expediency, private investors and foreign governments are buying up and/or leasing millions of acres of prime global farm land as a hedge against the coming "age of scarcity."

This government's track record on preserving farmland is at best dismal, at worst, farcical. There are always winners and losers, but the failure of, retention of farmland guarantees farmers lose – ultimately so does the B.C. public. 

Demand for food is inelastic. People will always pay whatever it takes to keep eating. You can't eat a mega mall.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, another of former Premier Campbell's pet projects is beginning to rear its ugly head in earnest. The proposed Site C dam in the Peace will create a reservoir 87-kilometres long and take an estimated 11,000 acres of agricultural land out of production, including 7,000 acres of Class I and 2 soil.

The salt in the wound is that Site C energy creation is not for domestic use. It will probably be used for industrial application, and taxpayers may end up subsidizing energy companies to the tune of $51 million a year.

Perhaps some good will come from the location of the soon-to-be mall. Every time British Columbians head to the B.C. ferries at Tsawwassen they will have to drive by the mega mall in all its brazen glory.

And hopefully they will understand what this government has foisted on it people - a monument to Campbell's Folly.