The provincial government should keep its hands off the Agricultural Land Commission, says Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington, who spoke at a farmland preservation rally on the lawn of the B.C. legislature Monday.
Organized by the Farmland Protection Coalition, about 1,000 people attended the event calling on Victoria not to weaken the commission and Agricultural Land Reserve.
In an interview this week following the rally, Huntington told the Optimist she spoke about the importance of agricultural
land to Delta's economy and the heritage of the community, noting any core review that could dissolve or change the structure of the ALC wasn't in Delta's best interests, nor supported by the people of B.C. "Even through it (ALR) was a public policy decision that created a lot of heartache at the time, over the years it's become one of the finest policy decisions ever made in British Columbia and that it is considered a treasure," she said.
"I said to the crowd we need to tell the government to keep its cotton-picking hands off the ALC," added the second-term independent MLA.
Also speaking at the rally was longtime Richmond city council member Harold Steves, one of the original founders of the ALR and recognized as its biggest champion today. He told the Optimist the public should keep a close eye on what comes from the province's core review in case the government quietly tries to soften the ALC.
