COLUMN: The ALR is here to stay

Thirty-five years ago. the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was a dirty word among farmers, realtors and developers.

In one swoop, the NDP government of Dave Barrett had stolen farmers’ retirement plans and severely limited the amount of development land in rapidly growing communities like Surrey. At least that was the accusation. There was outrage at such cavalier action, and the anger led to protests in Victoria and organized efforts to unseat the NDP.

While the anger persisted, and the NDP was unseated in 1975, the ALR hasn’t gone away. In fact, as former Liberal agriculture minister John van Dongen said at a 35th anniversary dinner for the ALR on Sunday, public support for it remains strong.

Van Dongen sees the ALR from a unique perspective. A working farmer, his farm in Abbotsford is on land preserved within the ALR. He has sat in opposition and in cabinet, and has seen the ALR from more angles than most politicians.

Most of the people at Sunday’s dinner at the Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club hall weren’t Liberals. There were several NDP MLAs past and present, former Green party leader Adrianne Carr, and many passionate ALR supporters.

Most prominent though were Barrett himself and Richmond Coun. Harold Steves, who was one of Barrett’s MLAs and one of the biggest advocates for farmland protection.

It would be hard to find many people in B.C. who would abolish the ALR. In fact, when Barrett was defeated by Bill Bennett and the Socreds in 1975, the new government didn’t touch the ALR. Nor did the Vander Zalm government which followed, although it did allow golf courses to be built on ALR lands.

The four subsequent NDP premiers did little to tamper with the ALR, and the Gordon Campbell Liberals have mostly left it alone as well.

Still, farmland remains under a number of threats. Its scarcity and the fact that urban land in Greater Vancouver is the highest-priced in Canada means it is expensive. It’s hard to make a living on farmland when it costs $100,000 an acre.

Perhaps the greatest challenges come from urban incursions. Here in Surrey, most land that was initially designated ALR in 1973 remains in the reserve, and most of it is being farmed. What has happened since 1973 is that lands used for farming that were outside the ALR have almost all gone for other uses. A number of chicken and mushroom farms have been converted to housing.

Larger farms, such as the Bose farm that was recently sold, often contain areas both outside and inside the ALR. The hillside portion of the Bose farm will almost certainly be turned into hundreds of housing units – which will directly abut ALR lands.

This often leads to conflicts between farm uses, such as blueberry cannons, and urban sensibilities.

Despite the concerns 35 years ago, farmers did not lose their retirement plans. Land prices went up after the ALR was enacted, and farmland has never been worth less than in pre-ALR days.

There has also been plenty of land available for development. In fact, the redirecting of development to land less suited for farming has brought an emphasis on density – the only way that urban services such as transit can be reasonably offered.

The ALR isn’t likely to face major change any time soon.