Land laws being followed: Mitchell
P.E.I. communities, land and environment minister says no individual or entity owns more land than permitted by law
“I can definitely say that all entities on P.E.I. are in compliance of the land limits and receive approval for the land in their names or their corporation names.” Communities, Land and Environment Minister Robert Mitchell
Prince Edward Island’s land ownership laws are not being exploited, despite concerns raised last week about loopholes being abused by large corporations, says Communities, Land and Environment Minister Robert Mitchell.
He says he understands there are concerns about certain larger corporate and religious entities and the amount of land they control. Nonetheless, no one is currently breaking P.E.I.’s land protection legislation, Mitchell said.
“I can definitely say that all entities on P.E.I. are in compliance of the land limits and receive approval for the land in their names or their corporation names.”
Mitchell was responding Monday to concerns raised last week by representatives from the National Farmer’s Union (NFU) at a legislative standing committee meeting in Charlottetown. Doug Campbell and Reg Phelan charged that a few big corporations are buying up large amounts of P.E.I. farmland, despite the fact P.E.I. has caps on the amount of land any one individual or company can own.
Campbell and Phelan named three entities, in particular, they allege are using loopholes to own or control more land than is permitted under P.E.I.’s land ownership laws: Irvin gowned Cavendish Farms, the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute (GEBIS) and Vanco Farms.
They argued that while the letter of the law may be being followed, the spirit of the law is not.
Mitchell says he has met with Phelan and Campbell on this and is well aware of their concerns.
But the province has not seen any evidence to show this allegation is true.
“I don’t think there’s a smoking gun here as they present it,” he said.
“All entities are meeting the land limit holdings on Prince Edward Island.”
Prince Edward Island’s Lands Protection Act says no one individual can own more than 1,000 acres of land and no corporation or business can own more than 3,000 acres. This law also says cabinet must approve any land purchases by non-residents of more than five acres or for any property containing more than 165 feet of shoreline.
Non-residents who wish to purchase land must sign a declaration of their intent to become a resident.
Last year, the province tightened its residency requirements for land ownership to say individuals must live in the province 365 days over the course of two years, rather than only 183 days over one year to qualify as a resident.
Mitchell says this was done because there were some instances where people were signing declarations and not following through with them, although he said this was “not a common occurrence.”
The NFU representatives urged the province last week to close loopholes in the legislation and to give the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission a stronger mandate to investigate the source of investor capital of prospective off-Island land purchasers.
But Mitchell says there are no plans to introduce any changes to the Lands Protection Act in this upcoming sitting of the legislature.
If anyone believes the province’s land ownership rules are being circumvented, Mitchell challenged them to bring forward proof.
“If you know of something that’s going on, give me evidence,” he said.
“This is very important to me, I keep a very close eye on all transactions that go through… But I can tell you right now that entities, corporations across Prince Edward Island are not holding more land in their ownership or lease holdings than the act allows.”
Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Communities, Land and Environment has called representatives from Cavendish Farms, GEBIS and Vanco Farms to provide details of their land holdings.