Today in the legislature I tabled a bill titled the Property Law and Land Title Amendment Act to ensure that farmland in British Columbia is safeguarded from real estate speculation using foreign capital. In addition, it is important to ensure that British Columbia’s future food security is protected.
Since the introduction of the 15% foreign buyers tax in July of 2016, which only applies to Metro Vancouver, the consequences I warned about have begun to occur. Market speculation has moved to other regions of the province, like Greater Victoria, Nanaimo and Kelowna, and other sectors, like agricultural land. This has had the effect of reducing supply and driving up prices beyond the reach of the average family and farmer. In addition, it is important to ensure that British Columbia’s future food security is protected.
Why is this important for B.C. farms? There are a number of factors to keep in mind. The agricultural sector is vital to the provincial economy accounting for over $3 billion in farm cash receipts and employing over 26,000 directly from farming activities. The value added food processing industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the province directly employing an additional 32,000 people and generating $8.2 billion in sales.
In the 2016 farmland census, there were 4,621,699 hectares in the Agriculture Land Reserve, which accounts for 5% of total land in the province. These range from huge ranch land areas to intensely farmed plots of only a few hectares. There is an opportunity to revive local economies, especially in hard hit rural areas, boost youth employment and green jobs, by promoting the establishment and advancement of new and current farm businesses. That can only occur however if land prices remain stable and affordable.
The bill I brought forward today is one of a number measures that need to be implemented to boost agricultural business, ensure food security and offer opportunities in communities throughout British Columbia. It ensures only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Canadian owned and registered companies can purchase agricultural land over 5 acres. Similar legislation already exists in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec and PEI.
Below are the video and text of the introduction of my bill together with our accompanying media release.
Video of my Introduction
Text of my Introduction
A. Weaver: I move a bill intituled Property Law Amendment Act, 2017, of which notice has been given, be introduced and read a first time now.
Motion approved.
A. Weaver: I’m very pleased to introduce the bill intituled Property Law Amendment Act, 2017. This bill amends the existing Property Law Act to ensure that land held within the agricultural land reserve is protected from international real estate speculation. If passed, this bill would prohibit foreign entities from purchasing ALR land over five acres in size without prior permission from the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council.
Many other provinces regulate and restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land in this way. These include Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. Our agricultural land reserve should have the same protection here in British Columbia.
Speculation on agricultural land is driving up prices and putting British Columbians’ future food security at risk. We have a limited amount of land in the agricultural land reserve, and the future of food security requires that we take immediate action to protect it.
I move that the bill be placed on the orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Bill M205, Property Law Amendment Act, 2017, introduced, read a first time and ordered to be placed on orders of the day for second reading at the next sitting of the House after today.
Media Release
February 16th, 2017 For immediate release Weaver introduces bill to protect agricultural land from speculation
VICTORIA B.C. – To address the rampant speculation of agricultural land in B.C., a trend that sees valuable farmland left unseeded or turned into sprawling mansions, today Andrew Weaver, Leader of the B.C. Green Party, tabled the Property Law Amendment Act.
“Since the introduction of the 15% foreign buyers tax on residential real estate in Metro Vancouver, speculators have targeted other areas of the Province and our agricultural land,” said Andrew Weaver, also the MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
“Investors are taking advantage of tax breaks meant to encourage farming, building mansions and using the land for speculative purposes. As a result, farmland is being taken out of production and prices are skyrocketing, making farmland unaffordable for local farmers.”
The bill would protect land held within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) from international real estate speculation. If passed, it would prohibit foreign entities from purchasing ALR land over 5 acres, without prior permission from the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
Many other provinces regulate and restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land through limiting the maximum acreage that foreign entities can purchase, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and PEI. B.C. is the only Western province that doesn’t restrict the amount of farmland foreign investors can purchase.
“Right now, B.C. is failing to protect our farmland in the face of foreign speculation and non-farming uses. Our farmland should be available to local food producers, not bought up by wealthy speculators. The future of our food security requires that we act immediately to protect and preserve our limited land in the ALR. This bill is one essential step towards that end.”
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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
Statement from Weaver on 2017 Speech from the Throne For immediate release February 14th, 2017
Victoria B.C. – B.C. Green Party Leader and MLA for Oak Bay Gordon Head Andrew Weaver released the following statement in response to the 2017 Speech from the Throne:
“The government started the throne speech with the words ‘Your government has a plan’. They spent the next forty minutes congratulating themselves for their past actions. Clearly, there was no plan and they have no plan. The BC Liberals are out of ideas and out of touch with the issues facing ordinary British Columbians.”
“While the government boasts about our economy, most people are experiencing more and more financial uncertainty. The government is patting itself on the back, rather than watching the backs of British Columbians who are trying to figure out how they’re going to pay the bills. And what the government isn’t saying is that we have a precarious economy driven by an out of control real estate market.”
“The BC Liberals have not articulated a plan for the future. Essentially, their message is ‘trust us’, we’ll keep doing more of the same. They toss around numbers as evidence without the full context or broader perspective of where these numbers came from. Things aren’t as rosy as their cherry-picked alternate facts would have you believe.”
“What’s ironic with the throne speech is that when the BC Liberals talk about taking action, it’s to solve the very problems that they created in the first place. The affordability crisis should have been addressed years ago, when I first raised it in the house. Instead their inaction is turning Vancouver into a playground for the wealthy.”
“Now that an election is around the corner, the BC Liberals are counting their votes. They’ve realized that British Columbians are looking for change. So rather than outlining a principled path forward that benefits all British Columbians, the BC Liberals cynically undertake political calculations to determine what messaging the should use. It’s say whatever it takes for the BC Liberals.”
“It’s time for a real change. The BC Green Party is offering a vision that is based on principles and evidence, and that puts people first. British Columbians deserve a government that will face the truth of our reality – one that will lead forward with conviction and a long-term plan.”
On Friday, February 3rd, I spoke to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. In my presentation I offered a vision for a prosperous British Columbia that builds on our strengths, not the weaknesses of others.
For those wondering about the direction that a BC Green government would take this province, please consider watching.
Video of Presentation to Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
Responding to allegations of B.C. Liberal Party website hack For immediate release February 6th, 2017
VICTORIA B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party issued the following statement regarding allegations that the B.C. Liberal Party website was hacked over the weekend:
“The B.C. Green Party condemns any attempt to hack or profit from the hack of a political opponent. Last week, the B.C. Liberals used leaked materials from the B.C. NDP to undermine their climate action platform announcement, and this week the B.C. Liberals’ website has apparently been hacked. This is gutter politics at its worst. It erodes trust in our democratic institutions and breeds mistrust in our systems of government. It is a net loss for the people of British Columbia. As B.C. Greens, my team and I are steadfast in our commitment to an honest, principled approach to politics that puts people at its centre, not dirty tricks and power.”
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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
Weaver Comments on the Representative for Children and Youth Report For immediate release February 6th, 2017
VICTORIA B.C. – Today’s report by the Representative for Children and Youth, “Broken Promises: Alex’s Story”, tells the story of Alex, a youth under the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development who took his own life at age 18.
“The report speaks clearly of the gravity of the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s failure to provide basic supports, in keeping with their duty under the law,” says Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head. “The Ministry denied Alex the chance to be taken care of by his extended family, and failed to provide him with desperately needed mental health services or the chance to find a meaningful connection to his culture.”
“It makes me sick to read that the government often referenced his ‘challenging behaviour’ as they cycled him through 17 placements, as if they were not complicit and aggravating all the challenges he faced.”
“That an abused and neglected 18-year old spent the last 49 days of his life in a hotel room, mostly alone, while the government waited for him to age out of care at age 19, is a horrific testament to the ways in which the Ministry is failing in its duty to protect and care for our most vulnerable children in BC”.
“The government’s subsequent news release claiming they intend to follow the report’s recommendations strikes me as horribly self congratulatory, considering many of the recommendations centre around the ministry neglecting to follow their own legislation to begin with. This isn’t something they should be telling us they plan to do, it has been their legal and moral responsibility to do so from the beginning.”
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Media contact
Mat Wright, Press Secretary
+1 250-216-3382 | mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
