Part B: Ministry of Agriculture and Lands

Purpose of Ministry

The mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is to promote economic development and environmental sustainability for the agriculture, aquaculture and food sectors, supporting them in delivering safe, healthy and high-quality food, and to manage Crown land in a manner that contributes to the economic, societal and environmental goals of government. This mandate supports the major changes in direction taken since 2001. Crown land policy and agriculture, aquaculture and food policies, programs and services of the Ministry have shifted from primarily a revenue and economic outlook to one that incorporates environmental and social objectives, similar to what is known as “triple bottom line reporting.”

The Ministry’s legal framework and its support for broader government goals and priorities underscores the interconnectedness between agriculture, aquaculture and Crown land use, and the health and well-being of British Columbians. The legal and regulatory environment that guides the work of the Ministry includes some 50 statutes which relate wholly or primarily to the Ministry and a further 98 regulations relating to the Ministry. A complete list of legislation for which the Ministry is responsible is available at www.leg.bc.ca/PROCS/allacts/al.htm.

The Ministry’s responsibility for administration of Crown land includes primarily development of policy to guide the allocation of Crown land and support to implement it, including development of policy to promote effective involvement of First Nations. This is essential to improving global competitiveness, enhancing the Province’s ability to attract private investment, and to stimulating economic growth while balancing environmental and societal values. In addition, the Ministry is the provincial lead in the remediation of Crown contaminated sites that are the responsibility of the Province, protecting human health and the environment.

Due to the constitutionally based, shared jurisdiction for agriculture and aquaculture and the historical importance of food production in Canada, the agriculture, aquaculture and food sectors are managed using an array of collaborative federal-provincial-territorial agreements. The most comprehensive arrangement is the Agricultural Policy Framework, which has been critically important to the shift in emphasis toward achieving environmental and social objectives. Over the last five years, the agreement has enabled the Ministry to supplement Ministry initiatives and agriculture programs on a cost-shared basis. The Agricultural Policy Framework expires in March 2008 and the Ministry is currently involved in negotiations to develop the next generation agriculture and agri-food policy framework (Growing Forward). The Ministry is now actively working to promote a transformative agenda for the sector that will create a stronger, more effective policy framework to address key challenges and opportunities.

The Ministry relies on partnerships with all levels of government, First Nations and industry in terms of funding, collaboration and service delivery to implement Ministry strategies. The Ministry also relies on inter-agency partnerships such as the Agricultural Land Commission and the B.C. Farm Industry Review Board. The Commission is an administrative tribunal responsible for administering the Agricultural Land Reserve, a provincial land-use zone that recognizes agriculture as a priority use. The Commission operates independently and derives its funding through the Ministry. The Farm Industry Review Board is a quasi-judicial tribunal. Its authority has evolved from supervising commodity boards to hearing and dealing with complaints about farm practices.

The Ministry also works closely with other provincial agencies, such as Integrated Land Management Bureau and the Ministries of Health, Forests and Range, Environment, and Tourism, Sport and the Arts, to fulfill its mandate. The mandates of these agencies connect in key areas such as climate change, food safety and quality, healthy people, land and resource use, commitments to First Nations, invasive plant and pest management, environmental issues and promotion of B.C. agricultural products.

Partners outside of government include the British Columbia Investment Agriculture Foundation, the B.C. Agriculture Council and sector associations. The Ministry works with these partners to improve the sector’s capacity to act strategically and promote its own interests. These sector partners are also more closely connected to farmers and producers, and the Ministry can more efficiently achieve its objectives by delivering a number of programs and initiatives through its industry partners.