Closing loopholes

The wait is finally over.

On Tuesday, Islanders finally got a glimpse into the province’s plans to close loopholes in the Lands Protection Act (LPA). Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson introduced those changes in a bill to amend that act as well as the Business Corporate Act.

Basically, the amendments boil down to increased fines, naming shareholders and clunky requirements for lawyers to mull over, like “inter-linked businesses” and lumping two or more “directly or indirectly” owned corporations into one.

But let’s call these amendments what they really are — Irving rules. After all, the most public disputes in recent history under the LPA involve Irving family members either attempting to buy Brendel Farms and its 2,200 acres of farmland, or in the case of Rebecca Irving’s incorporated farm, successfully acquiring a newly-created farm corporation that owned the land.

The bill has only gone through first reading, which is good news since it will give Islanders until the spring session to provide input on the bill. Islanders should take full advantage of this opportunity.

Of course, J.D. Irving and Cavendish Farms aren’t the only large corporations we should be keeping an eye on. But they’re the ones getting the most attention lately.

Here’s what the proposed changes get right.

Yes, corporate shareholders should be revealed as well as indirect, direct and inter-linked business relationships so the province can determine who is actually buying land and make sure the 3,000-acre corporate farmland limit isn’t violated.

In the case of land-owning corporations, the names and addresses of shareholders with five per cent of shares has to be publicly disclosed.

The question is, what is stopping someone from reducing their shares to four per cent, or even 4.99 per cent. Have we found a loophole? Well, that’s for the lawyers to debate, but it looks like it would be worth a try. In any event, improved transparency is always welcomed.

At the very least, the amendments will give the province better tools to make sure no corporation is trying to horde too much land through their subsidiaries.

There is only so much acreage to go around on P.E.I. And, we need enough to pass on to future generations so they can also have an opportunity to make a living off the land.

The amendments may not be perfect, but their goals are worth fighting for.