Municipalities look to protect agricultural land
UBCM calls for review amid concerns over cannabis impact on food security
Three months before marijuana is legalized across the country, the Union of B.C. Municipalities has asked the provincial government to put a moratorium on the use of agricultural land to grow cannabis.
The resolution, arrived at late the previous week but only made public on Friday, says the ban should remain in place until there is a comprehensive review and consultation with local governments.
It would not apply to existing operations.
In a presentation to a meeting of Metro Vancouver’s mayors and regional planning committee, Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang, who co-chairs the union’s Joint Provincial-Local Government Committee on Cannabis Regulation, said the resolution has been presented to the province.
“I think they are sympathetic to the idea and we wait to see what they do next,” Jang said.
The federal Cannabis Act, which will legalize marijuana, received royal assent on June 21 and will come into effect on Oct. 17.
At Friday’s meeting, members of the two committees expressed serious concerns about how marijuana legalization will affect the region’s dwindling farmland. They include an increase in commercial facilities in farm areas, lack of food security, policing, poor air quality, odour complaints and environmental issues.
The same concerns were discussed in 2014, when Metro’s board offered feedback to the province on medical marijuana facilities on agricultural land. It said at the time that it supported grow facilities on industrial land, but it has not updated its position.
Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner said she does not support growing marijuana on agricultural land, and would like to see the province support the moratorium to protect land for food production.
“I fear we won’t see another blueberry,” she said.
Delta Mayor Lois Jackson said she’s worried about farmers being pushed off of farmland and the ability of the region and province to feed itself in the future. Her community has about 24,000 acres of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and she said they ’ve received hundreds of applications about growing cannabis.
“I have a passion for farming in our community and I want to see it continue,” she said. “I see the domino effect coming along here and I think it’s a responsibility that we should be taking very seriously.”
Jackson put forward a motion aimed at having the Metro board encourage the province to protect land in the Agricultural Land Reserve and encouraging food production over non-food uses. The motion was referred to staff.
Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer, who also has concerns about food security in the region, said she found it odd that the UBCM would take a position on cannabis on agricultural land when that same land is already being used for nonfood products, such as flowers and Christmas trees.
Jang said it’s because the issue is important to union members, who have not complained about other non-food products.
“It’s quite vociferous, the worries about cannabis on agricultural land,” Jang said.
Reimer suggested that it was instead a case of “reefer madness.”