[BCFSN] New ALC Chair Appointed

Fri May 15 02:47:50 EDT 2015

The Globe’s Mark Hume has a helpful article about it, “B.C. government fires
outspoken chair of Agricultural Land Commission
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-government-fires-ou
tspoken-chair-of-agricultural-land-commission/article24450072/> .” BCFSN is
well represented in the article by Brent Mansfield’s measured comments. Hume
is in contrast to Black Press’s Tom Fletcher, who unfortunately has been
quick to spread his usual bias.

I’ve reactivated the “Thank You Richard Bullock” virtual card. It’s a quick
way to provide a supportive hand to someone who has stood firm in his ALR
duties at great personal cost, and it can have bonus values beyond that.
It’s useful to have some people signing soon to get the ball rolling. It’s
at http://you.leadnow.ca/p/bullock.

I will ensure that the virtual card, which is impressive in PDF, soon
reaches Richard Bullock as well as those who sign. Of course, though, that’s
just something fitting that can be acted on right away. Good luck to BCFSN’s
capable policy leaders in analyzing what’s happened and coming up with
practical next steps, as they typically do.

Jim Wright
Garden City Conservation Society
GardenCityLands.wordpress.com <https://gardencitylands.wordpress.com>

From:  Arzeena Hamir <arzeenahamir at shaw.ca>
Date:  Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 2:42 PM
To:  COABC Listserve <coabc_list at certifiedorganic.bc.ca>, BCFSN list
<food at bcfsn.org>
Subject:  [BCFSN] New ALC Chair Appointed

Very surprising news.

Arzeena

Amara Farm
Courtenay, BC
(250) 702-5657
https://www.facebook.com/AmaraFarm
https://twitter.com/arzeena

New chair appointed to Agricultural Land Commission

  Economy <http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/sectors/economy/more-news.html> ,
Environment 
<http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/sectors/environment/more-news.html> ,
Government Operations
<http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/sectors/government-operations/more-news.html>
Thursday, May 14, 2015  1:30 PM

<http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2015/05/new-chair-appointed-to-agricultural-l
and-commission.html#>

The Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council has appointed Frank Leonard as new chair
of the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC).

Leonard is a former mayor of Saanich. He was first elected mayor in 1996
after serving on council since 1986. While in public office, Leonard chaired
the Municipal Finance Authority of BC, was president of the Union of BC
Municipalities and a director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
He has also chaired the Capital Regional District, the Hospital District,
the region’s Housing Corporation, the Saanich Police Board, and has served
on the Regional Transit Commission. He has also served on numerous
recreation, arts, and community boards.

Over 1,800 hectares, or almost 20%, of Saanich’s land base is located within
the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Under Leonard’s leadership Saanich
Council continued to build on the region’s agriculture heritage, with
policies supporting local food production in both rural and urban areas, as
reflected in Saanich’s Official Community Plan. Leonard was also a past
co-chair of the Farm Assessment Review Panel, which looked at the farm
classification process and regulations for municipal tax purposes.

Leonard comes from a family-business background, having managed Victoria
Tire Ltd.'s three Kal Tire stores before his election as mayor. While in
business, Leonard served as a director of the BC Chamber of Commerce,
president of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, and on the boards of local
tourism and economic development groups.

Frank Leonard is currently chair of Parkbridge Lifestyles Communities,
vice-chair of the Municipal Pension Plan and a director of the Victoria
Airport Authority. He has previously served as a director of the BC
Investment Management Corporation.

Leonard holds his bachelor of arts in history (Honours) and his master of
arts from the University of Victoria.

Leonard will take up duties as chair of the ALC immediately. He will hold
combined duties as board chair and CEO for a period of five months while he
leads the search for a new CEO of the commission.

 The ALC is an independent administrative tribunal responsible for
administering the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve. The commission’s
mission is to preserve agricultural land and encourage and enable farm
businesses throughout B.C. The ALR is the largest it has ever been in its
history, with more than 4.7 million hectares set aside for farming. The land
in the ALR has increased by 38,000 hectares since 2001.

For more information visit: http://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/

Media Contacts:

Ministry of Agriculture Communications
250 356-1674

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