Dear Editor,
Re: “‘Worst attack’ on farmland since ’73,” News, Aug. 23.
In my future vision, the farmed soils in Richmond will be our strength and source of pride, as they give rise to food for all.
As arable farmlands erode, so too, does our timeframe to act.
But how can we, when we have three levels of government all pointing fingers at each other and being lousy excuses for representatives of the public good?
Thankfully, the B.C. Greens’ leader/MLA Andrew Weaver has recently advocated for a means of food security protection from speculators: banning foreign buyers from parcels of farmland larger than a certain size (e.g. five acres).
The single biggest issue for new farmers is access to affordable farmland.
Richmond has become the “Wild West” for speculators, as they devour what remains, depreciating the availability and quality of the land.
They have succeeded in securing their investments, inflating prices in the process, while lobbyists work to rezone agricultural areas for residential and industrial use.
With only five per cent of B.C. in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), we cannot afford to be apathetic, as applications to build over 40,000-square-foot “homes” are immediate threats.
What would my great-grandchildren think? This is happening on our watch!
Where have all our Richmond politicians gone?
MPs Joe Peschisolido and Alice Wong could be champions by winning the fight to remove the power to annex ALR from Port of Vancouver.
MLAs Jas Johal, Linda Reid, Teresa Wat and John Yap could try to act as supportive opposition and work with Weaver’s upcoming motions in the legislature, along with the wide, sweeping changes that will be brought forward by the Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.
And then we have mayor and councillors in Richmond. From listening to their comments and reviewing their voting histories, only Carol Day and Harold Steves seem to understand the long-term consequences of our (in)action.
Supporting Day’s and Steves’ efforts to rein in sizes and quantity of mega-mansions and to prohibit non-ALR uses is a no-brainer.
If not, then I’d gladly replace one of the council members after the next election in October 2018.
Just follow the money to see who funds their campaigns and ultimately seems to benefit from their decisions.
Michael Wolfe, Richmond
*Former Green party candidate
