On May 27, 2015, Lana Popham (MLA for Saanich South) introduced a member's bill respecting forestry operations in the Agricultural Land Reserve ("ALR").  This bill was recently made public and can be found here.

Bill M224, Agricultural Land Commission (Protection of Agricultural Lands) Amendment Act, 2015, (currently, at first reading) would require owners of ALR land to seek permission of the Agricultural Land Commission if they wish to operate an afforestation carbon off-set program.  It also gives the Commission authority to decide whether such use is in the best interest of the ALR.

Ms. Popham explained the rational for introducing Bill M224 as follows: 

This bill is being introduced to address one of the latest challenges facing the ALR — the practice of buying up prime farmland, covering it with trees and turning it into carbon sinks.
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Over 10,500 hectares of ALR land are being used for carbon offset schemes by one offshore corporation, and they don't plan on stopping. Farmers are watching land being bought and taken out of production all around them. Farmers in the Cariboo, specifically, have lost B.C. agricultural opportunities to a corporation in the UK.

The progress (if any) of Bill M224 will be interesting to watch, considering that, for the most part, recent amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission Act have relaxed – rather than restricted – the use of the ALR.

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