Rally Round the Family: Saving B.C.'s Agricultural Land Reserve

Rally planned on Family Day holiday to save Agricultural Land Reserve

by Farmland Protection Coalition

VICTORIA, BC  — Farmers and their supporters will be rallying at the British Columbia Legislature on the Family Day holiday, Monday February 10, at a Noon-hour "Food for the Future" rally to save the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The rally is being organized by the Farmland Protection Coalition and has been endorsed by more than 50 organizations, from the National Farmers Union and Sierra Club of BC to the BC Federation of Labour and local church, seniors' and farm groups.

"British Columbians from all walks of life are coming together to demand that Premier Christy Clark and her government respect the autonomy of the Agricultural Land Reserve, strengthen the Agricultural Land Commission, and uphold the spirit and the letter of the Land Commission Act," says Nathalie Chambers, a Saanich farmer and co-chair of the Farmland Protection Coalition.

Chambers says the demonstration and wider farmland-protection movement has been building for years and picked up steam in November when leaked Cabinet documents suggested the BC government was considering far-reaching changes to the ALR and ALC, including a proposed two-zone system that would expedite the removal of farmland for oil and gas development as well as the Site C power project.

"We need farmland to grow food for the future," says Chambers, who spearheaded the successful effort to save Madrona Farm in the Capital Region's Blenkinsop Valley in perpetuity.

"The ALR protects the soils that are essential to agricultural as well as to the health, economy and security of British Columbians. Even on so-called 'marginal' ALR lands, soils can be improved through sustainable farming practices. The ALR really is a key to the future in our mountainous province."

The February 10 Family Day Rally features musical performances by the Capital City Syncopators and Oliver Swain's Big Machine, beginning at 11:30am on the Legislature Grounds, with speakers beginning at 12 Noon from organizations including the National Farmers Union, Island Chef's Collaborative and the Peace Valley Environmental Association.

Families and all members of the public are encouraged to attend Monday's rally.


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- For Immediate Release -

February 5, 2014

For further information, please contact:

Nathalie Chambers, Farmland Protection Coalition, 250-893-4505