Honourable Pat Bell



		Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell was joined by Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Planning Val Roddick and B.C. Agriculture Council Executive Director Steve Thomson for a Dec. 11, 2006 all-B.C. Christmas meal in his Victoria office. The meal was prepared to remind British Columbians that they have a choice this holiday season, and they should choose B.C. products for the Best Meal on Earth. [News release] Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell released the 2003 – 2005 Fish Health Report to the media on Dec. 6, 2006. The report is the most comprehensive of its kind ever done in North America and its release comes just a few months after the Minister released a Compliance and Enforcement Report on the aquaculture industry, which showed between 90 – 100 compliance. Click here for full-size photo



		The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands won gold in the Infrastructure category at the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships 2006 National Awards for the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant. The partnership between the Province and EPCOR ends a century of heavy metal pollution in Howe Sound. Fraser Milner Casgrain CEO Michel Brunet (right) presented the award to Britannia Mine Senior Program Engineer Barry Azevedo (2nd from right) who accepted on behalf of the Ministry, and Dr. Steve Stanley (2nd from left) from EPCOR. Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon (left) was MC for the awards ceremony in Toronto on November 20. Click here for full-size photo



		Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell attaches the new Containment Level 3 lab to a model of the existing Abbotsford Agriculture Centre as part of a Nov. 16 announcement. Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl joined Minister Bell for the announcement of the $14.5-million lab, expected to be ready for operation by late 2007. Click here for full-size photo

		Dr. Ron Lewis, Chief Veterinarian for the Province, points out to Minister Bell (right) and Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Chuck Strahl (left) the location of the soon-to-be built Containment Level 3 lab in Abbotsford. The two Ministers were at the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands’ Agriculture Centre on Nov. 16 to officially announce the new $14.5-million lab. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell got much more than the “bear” minimum for the government sponsored "BC Spirit Bear" that he auctioned off on Nov. 8 as part of the B.C. Lions Society's Kermode Spirit Bears in the City fundraiser. Minister Bell worked the crowd like a true auctioneer, eventually selling the bear (not pictured) for $12,100 – all of which goes to charity. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell helps Cordova Bay Elementary student Cole Porter pick a pumpkin during a visit to Michell Brothers Farm in Saanich. Bell also presented Michell Brothers Farm with a Minister's Award of Excellence for the farm's contribution to B.C.'s agriculture industry. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (far right), joined by (left to right) Small Business Victoria's Ken Stratford, Wilderness Tourism Association President Brian Gunn and Small Business BC CEO Tara Gilbert, announces the official opening of FrontCounter BC Victoria on October 23, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Pat Bell and Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo present Agriculture and Lands Deputy Minister Larry Pedersen with a long-service award in recognition of his 25 years in the B.C. public service at a ceremony held on Oct. 5, 2006 at Government House. The Deputy was just one of many Agriculture and Lands employees to receive long-service awards. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (second from left) joins representatives from the BC Wine Institute in a toast to B.C.'s growing food and wine sector. From left are: Trish Morelli, project consultant; Peggy Athans, Executive Director, BC Wine Institute; Scott Fraser, Board Chair, BC Wine Institute; David Scholefield, Wine Educator, BC Wine Institute. The Minister was at the Chef meets Grape event in Vancouver on Sept. 21, 2006 to announce the Province is providing a $50,000 grant to the BC Wine Institute to develop a business plan for a new B.C. Wine and Culinary Centre. Click here for full-size photo



		4-H member Jared Krause introduces his cow, Tolamika Astro Hailey, to Minister Pat Bell at Armstrong’s Interior Provincial Exhibition. Bell was in Armstrong to officially open the fair on Aug. 30, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell toured the Centre for Shellfish Research at Nanaimo’s Malaspina University-College on Aug. 3, 2006. Here he is reaching for a geoduck with one hand, while holding a red sea urchin in the other. The Minister was at the Centre to announce $266,000 for shellfish training and research. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (left) joined Al Castledine, Director of the Ministry’s Aquaculture Development Branch and Catherine Stewart from the Living Oceans Society, a Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform member group, for a tour of the Broughton Archipelago on Aug. 2, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (left) met with Roberta Stevenson, Executive Director of the BC Shellfish Growers Association and Keith Reid, President of the BC Shellfish Growers Association at their Comox office on Aug. 1, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (right) cooks up a storm with Nanaimo-Parksville MLA Ron Cantelon at the Aug. 1, 2006 grand opening of FrontCounter BC Nanaimo. FrontCounter BC is part of government’s ongoing, long-term plan to deliver services when and where they are needed. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell (right), and Paul Gill, owner of M&M Farms in Surrey, display some of the farm's blueberry crop. British Columbia is Canada's largest producer of blueberries and the second largest in the world. In 2005, B.C.'s blueberry crop was worth $68 million. Bell visited the farm on July 26. Click here for full-size photo



		Premier Gordon Campbell joined (from left to right) Education Minister Shirley Bond, Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad, Minister Bell, Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister Tom Christensen and Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell to announce 248 hectares of Crown land being given to the University of Northern British Columbia for research, teaching and use in Nordic Sports. The announcement was made July 20, 2006 in Prince George. Click here for full-size photo



		Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell met with growers Balwinder Khun Khun and Karmjit Gill while touring H & S Productions in Kelowna. The Minister was in the Okanagan July 13, 2006 looking at hail-damaged orchards. Click here for full-size photo



		Saanich North and the Islands MLA Murray Coell joined 4-H’ers at the Saanich Fairgrounds on July 8, 2006 to announce the Ministry is providing $170,000 to the B.C. 4-H council. Of the $170,000, $95,000 is the province’s annual commitment to 4-H for the current fiscal year and the remaining $75,000 is a one-time grant to support youth in agriculture. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell and Grace Krahn of Birchwood Dairy Farm with a road sign that will direct tourists to accreditated farm destinations. The road sign program is a joint effort between the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, the Ministry of Transporation and the B.C. AgriTourism Alliance. Bell announced the new program at the June 7 kick-off of the 2006 Circle Farm Tour in the Fraser Valley. Click here for full-size photo



		BEE-ing very careful, Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell lifts a bee-covered comb from a hive at Honeyview Farm in Rosedale on Tuesday, Jun. 6. Bell visited the Fraser Valley Farm to highlight the importance of B.C.'s apiary industry. B.C.'s 2,100 beekeepers produce over 4.4 million pounds of honey each year, worth approximately $7 million. Pollination services also play a major role in the province's agriculture industry. Studies have shown that honeybee pollination in B.C. is responsible for more than $160 million per year in agricultural production. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell shares a laugh with artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas at the June 6 unveiling of the Province’s three Spirit Bears in Vancouver. Through the B.C. Lions’ Society’s Spirit Bears in the City fundraiser, the government of British Columbia commissioned three artists to paint the bears to commemorate the historic February 7, 2006 Central Coast and North Coast land use decisions. Mr. Yahgulanaas has an international reputation for his creative and unique approach to Haida art. His merging of traditional Haida forms and contemporary social commentary is evident in his Spirit Bear, Haida Manga. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell (2nd left) is joined at the grand opening ceremony for the Britannia Mine water treatment plant by Minister of Environment Barry Penner (left), Dr. Steve Stanley of EPCOR, West Vancouver - Garibaldi MLA Joan McIntyre, Larry Blain of Partnerships BC and Bob Purdy of the Fraser Basin Council. The plant removes heavy metals from runoff water at the old Britannia Mine site, resulting in a huge improvement to the marine environment of Howe Sound. The opening was held on World Environment Day, June 5, 2006. Click here for full-size photo





		Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell, (back centre), met May 12 in Prince George with 10 post-secondary students hired for four-month postings to regional agriculture offices. The students and their hometown are, back row, from left: Jacqueline Dennett (Kamloops), Cameron Quesnel (Lumby), Daichi Shinozaki (Burnaby), Dustin Griffin (Armstrong) and Clinton Quesnel (Lumby). Front row, from left: Sharla Ziegeman (Fort St. John), Mathew Masi (Fort Steele), Adrienne Montgomery (Victoria), Kimberley Will (Falkland) and Tara Dempster (Kamloops). In helping deliver ministry programs, the students will, among other things, work with farmers and the agriculture sector, 4-H Clubs and fairs and exhibitions. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Pat Bell shares a laugh with renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall and Spirit Bear Youth Coalition Chair Simon Jackson at the Victoria Roots and Shoots event. The event, sponsored by the Jane Goodall Institute, was held May 11. Minister Bell spoke to more than 300 school-age children, teachers and guests about the historic Central Coast and North Coast land use decisions. The decisions cover an area of more than 6.4 million hectares and protect more than 1.8 million hectares, including more than 200,000 hectares of Spirit Bear habitat. Click here for full-size photo



		Kelly Brown, Heiltsuk First Nations Land Use Planner looks on as Minister Pat Bell speaks about legislation to establish a new designation of protected area vital to implementing the Central Coast and North Coast land use decisions. The announcement was made by Environment Minister Barry Penner on April 25, 2005. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Pat Bell is joined in front of the Legislature by Minister of Health George Abbott, 1st VP of the B.C. Association of Fairs and Exhibitions Don Gedlaman, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Planning Val Roddick and 4-H participants from around the Island to celebrate Agriculture Day in B.C. At the April 3 event the Minister also announced a new program that will boost the profile of agriculture fairs and exhibitions and expand the number of events across the province. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Pat Bell had a chance to visit with a few 4-H'ers from the South Island as part of Agriculture Day at the Legislature. One of the 4-H participants brought a few other guests to the April 3 event: a sheep named A Junior and two lambs, Stephanie and Morelli. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell, joined by Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond, Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad and Don Davidson, Project Manager with the B.C. Food Processors Association's Meat Industry Enhancement Strategy, announces government support for meat processors to help with the transition to the Ministry of Health's Meat Inspection Regulation. The announcement was made on April 2, 2006 at Kawano Farms in Prince George. Click here for full-size photo



		Premier Gordon Campbell presented the FrontCounter BC team the Innovation and Excellence Award in the category of Cross-Government Integration at a ceremony in Victoria on March 29, 2006. FrontCounter BC - a partnership of 12 agencies - provides a single point of contact for natural resource authorizations, enabling clients to connect with the services they need without having to make multiple queries at a number of different natural resource agencies. Click here for full-size photo



		Chiefs from the KNT First Nations met with government officials in Alert Bay on March 27 to celebrate the next phase of the historic Central and North Coast Land and Resource Management Plans. Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell dances with Chair of the KNT First Nation Dallas Smith. The minister was asked by First Nations to don regalia and join in celebratory dancing following the signing of government-to-government agreements between the Province and the eight Central Coast chiefs. Click here for full-size photo

		Chief of the 'Namgis First Nation Bill Cramner watches Minister Bell put his signature to the government-to-government agreement between the Province and the KNT First Nations. The Minister was in Alert Bay on March 27, 2006 to celebrate the next phase of the historic Central and North Coast Land and Resource Management Plans. Click here for full-size photo



		Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Chuck Strahl (left) and other provincial Minister's look on as Minister Bell addresses media at the March 19 and 20 meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Agriculture at Harrison Hot Springs. Click here for full-size photo



		Media look on as Minister Bell – joined by Kelowna Mission MLA Sindi Hawkins and BC Fruit Growers Association Vice-President (BCFGA) Pierre Calissi – announces $75,000 to help the fruit growers prepare a strategic plan for the future. The announcement was made Mar. 3, 2006 at Kelowna's Rampone Orchards. Click here for full-size photo

		Domenic Rampone took Minister Bell on a tour of his family's orchard on Mar. 3, 2006. The Minister was at the farm to announce the next step in government's plan to assist the BCFGA with the development of a long-term strategic plan for the industry. The Rampone family are sixth generation farmers who have been farming in Kelowna since 1893. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell and Chartwell Consultants Ltd. GIS mapping manager Cheri Stutz discuss some of the benefits the Base Map Online Store offers at the launch of the new service Mar. 1 in Victoria. Stutz's clients have found the new service efficient and easy to use. Click here for full-size photo

		Base Mapping and Geomatic Service Program Administrator Christiane Lenz shows Minister Bell how to access and navigate the new Base Map Online Store. The new service was launched Mar. 1 in Victoria. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell welcomed a group of students from Northern B.C. to the Legislature on Feb. 22, 2006. The students were visiting Victoria as part of the Council of Forest Industries Forest Education Program. Left to right are: Erin Giesbrecht (Fort St. James), Jonathon Vanbarneveld (Houston), Jimmy Lerch (Valemount), Tim von Hahn (Quesnel), Erin Atkinson (Mackenzie), Nikole Jensen (Fort St. John), Hillary Sheppard (Fort Nelson), and Letitia da Ross (Dawson Creek). Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell and federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Chuck Strahl hand out the 2006 B.C. Region Outstanding Young Farmer award to Anita and Pieter de Bruin. The award was one of many handed out at the 2006 B.C. Agriculture Council's gala dinner in Abbotsford on Feb. 17. Click here for full-size photo



		Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Planning and Delta South MLA Val Roddick announces six MLAs are forming a committee to conduct focused discussions with British Columbians to enhance the agriculture industry. Roddick made the announcement Feb. 17, 2006 at the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell and Reynold Hert, CEO Western Forest Products, look on as KNT First Nations chairman Dallas Smith speaks to those gathered for an announcement on provincial land use decisions for the Central and North Coast. Premier Campbell made the announcement – which will preserve some of the most spectacular, ecologically diverse regions in the world, including critical Spirit Bear habitat – in Vancouver on Feb. 7, 2006. Click here for full-size photo

		Premier Gordon Campbell (centre) and Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell (far left) join First Nations leaders, industry leaders and environmentalists in Vancouver to celebrate the land-use decisions for the Central Coast and North Coast. Feb. 7, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell had a chance to discuss agriculture with Steve and Faye Street while touring a ranch near Jaffray as part of a Feb. 4-5 trip to the Kootenay's. Faye Street is the General Manager of the Kootenay Livestock Association (KLA). Click here for full-size photo

		Don Lancaster, President of the KLA looks on as Minister Bell talks with Steve and Faye Street. The Minister attended the KLA's Annual General Meeting in Cranbrook on Feb. 4, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell answers questions from the media after addressing the 117th annual convention of the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association in Kelowna. The convention was held Jan. 27 and 28, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Gordon Fitzpatrick, proprietor of Cedar Creek Estate Winery looks on as Minister Bell tries his hand at pruning vines. The Minister visited the Okanagan-area winery on Jan. 27, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell stopped by the Integrated Land Management Bureau's FrontCounter BC booth set up at the 4th Annual BC Natural Resource Forum, an event hosted by the Minister. Pictured with the Minister are Mark Wessner, Manager of FrontCounter BC Prince George and Bernadette Aura. The forum was held January 12-13, 2006. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell returned home Dec. 18, 2005 from WTO meetings in Hong Kong where he pushed for greater market access for B.C. products. Here he is joined by two members of the B.C. Agri-Food Trade Council, who also travelled half-way around the world to promote B.C. products. Jim Smolik is a grain grower from Dawson Creek and President of the Grain Growers of Canada; Walter Smith is a Vancouver Island dairy producer and Vice President of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Click here for full-size photo

		Minister Bell (back right) also had a chance to visit the bustling Port of Hong Kong as part of his trip to China for the Doha round of WTO meetings. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell and Walter Bruns, President of HeliCat Canada sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining best practices for helicopter and snowcat ski companies operating in mountain caribou habitat. The MOU was announced Nov. 29, 2005. Click here for full-size photo



		Saskatchewan's Agriculture and Food Minister Mark Wartman (right) looks on as B.C.'s Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell addresses their federal, provincial, and territorial colleagues at a November 25 Ministers of Agriculture meeting in Regina, Saskatchewan . Photo courtesy of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food. Click here for full-size photo



		The British Columbia Supply Management 5 group (BCSM5) met on Nov. 17, 2005 with Minister Pat Bell and Val Roddick, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Planning. In the front row, from left, are: Les Burm, BCSM5 Chair, also representing turkey producers; Minister Bell and Val Roddick. In the back row, from left, are: Bill Boesterd of Denbow Transport representing the transport industry; Wally Smith, representing National Supply Management); Walt Siemens, representing egg producers; Cornie Hertgers, representing dairy producers; Bud Krahn, representing chicken producers; Ian Bunbury of Avenue Machinery Corp., representing equipment dealers, and Vic Regier, representing the hatching egg producers. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell (far right) joined, from left to right, Prince George-Omineca MLA John Rustad, Mount Polley Mines General Manager Howard Bradley and Imperial Metals Ltd. CEO Brian Kynoch for the official reopening of Mount Polley Mine. The celebration was held on Sept. 16, 2005 at the mine, located north of Williams Lake. Click here for full-size photo



		Front Counter BC officially opened for business in Kamloops on Sept. 16, 2005, an event attended by both Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger and Kamloops MLA Claude Richmond. With walls made of blue-stained wood caused by the Mountain Pine Beetle, the office is a reflection of natural resources found in the region. Click here for full-size photo



		Minister Bell in the cellars of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery with proprietor Midge Wyse. Burrowing Owl was just one of the wineries visited by the Minister during an Aug. 27, 2005 tour. Click here for full-size photo



		Amanda Gilliland, an 11-year-old 4-H member from Abbotsford, proudly shows off the lamb she raised and sold at the PNE's annual 4-H auction held Aug. 23 in Vancouver. She is joined by Larry Weymouht, an Abbotsford butcher who purchased the animal on behalf of Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell. The meat has been donated to a Lower Mainland transition house. Click here for full-size photo



		Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell met with Southern Plus Feedlot owner Bill Freding in August 2005 to discuss the recent opening of the U.S. border to imports of Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. Click here for full-size photo



		Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger joined Kamloops and area members of the B.C. 4-H club and their woolly friends for an announcement on Aug. 3, 2005. Minister Bell presented the B.C. 4-H club with a $95,000 cheque and signed the renewal of a five-year memorandum of understanding between the Ministry and the 4-H. Click here for full-size photo