Choosing Our Future:
An update on the development of a provincial Agri-Food Policy
Minister of Agriculture and Food
October 20, 1999
This is a pivotal moment for BC’s
agri-food industry. We are in the final
stages of the development of a provincial agri-food policy that will be the cornerstone of
sustainable growth for the food and beverage industry in BC.
In 1998, farmers, food processors, retailers and distributors from all corners of the
province came together to begin work on developing a provincial policy. In April, the
Minister’s Agri-Food Industry Advisory Committee met in Richmond to begin looking at
the objectives identified through earlier 1994-95 consultations. More than 200 industry
representatives participated in the agri-food policy consultations in Nanaimo, Kelowna,
Dawson Creek, Creston, Williams Lake and Abbotsford in June. The ideas brought forth in
those workshops provided a foundation for discussion in Naramata, where 80 people
representing all areas of the agri-food sector met in November to come up with some
solutions to the challenges facing our industry.
As we went through the process of listening to industry representatives from the
agri-food sector, we handled the recommendations and concerns in different ways. The ones
my ministry could do something about in the short-term we pulled out of the process and
started working with industry to address. However, there are a number of issues brought
forth by industry that are bigger and more complex. Resolving these big social policy
issues is beyond the ability of BC’s agri-food industry and one ministry alone. These
broad policy questions require commitments and buy-in not only from my Cabinet colleagues
but from British Columbians as a whole in communities throughout the province. This fall
and winter, the Select Standing Committee on
Agriculture and Fisheries – a non-partisan committee of the Legislature –
will examine, inquire into and make recommendations on the agri-food policy.
The document Choosing Our Future: Options for the Agri-Food
Industry outlines many of the issues, ideas and solutions discussed at the
regional workshops and the conference in Naramata. The Select Standing Committee will use
it as part of their discussions when they consult with British Columbians. The ideas put
forth by industry will have to make sense to the people of BC:
- 21,000 of whom are farmers;
- 40,000 of whom work in primary production;
- 250,000 of whom work in some aspect of the agri-food industry; and
- all of whom – every British Columbian – will be affected by this
province’s long-term ability to produce the food we eat.
Starting this fall, the committee will hold province-wide community consultations. This
will be an opportunity for all British Columbians to be part of the solution to the
agri-food industry’s challenges. The committee’s report will be tabled in the
Legislature in the Spring of 2000. At that point, we’ll be in a strong position to
produce an agri-food policy that will help BC take advantage of the opportunities we see
ahead, and we’ll be better able to address the barriers that are now adversely
affecting the agri-food industry of this province.
The issues are complex and the solutions must have the buy-in of British Columbians
beyond our sector if they are going to work. If you would like more information on the
Select Standing Committee’s consultations, please call the Clerk of Committee’s
Office at 250 356-6318, or visit the committee’s web site: www.legis.gov.bc.ca/cmt/.
Sincerely,
Corky Evans
Minister of Agriculture and Food
October 20, 1999
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