Loopholes in Lands Protection Act need to be closed, say leaders

Three of the party leaders fighting in the P.E.I. provincial election think the Lands Protection Act needs to be opened up and loopholes closed.

That was a major message at the leaders' debate on land preservation issues held Tuesday night.

The debate was hosted by the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands. Three of the party leaders were in attendance, but a party spokesperson said Liberal Leader Wade MacLauchlan could not make the event.

The questions, all of which the leaders had received in advance, ranged from transparency on ownership, crop rotation regulations and how to promote the traditional family farm to name a few. 

'The spirit of the act'

Much of the evening's debate centred on the Lands Protection Act, and whether it is doing the job it was designed to.

Progressive Conservative leader Dennis King said his party is committed to a review of the act.

"We know that there are a number of loopholes that have been identified," he said 

"It's now the job of government to close that loophole and to make sure the enforcement is there so that the spirit of the act is recognized."

Greens agree

Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker also believes in a full review of the act to provide more clarity, that grey areas should be identified and rewritten.

He believes the review should be conducted by an independent body and that the public should be involved. 

"The other critical thing is that we consult properly with the stakeholders, and of course that involves public engagement, particularly with the agricultural community," said Bevan-Baker.

Better database needed says NDP

NDP Leader Joe Byrne said the needs of both buyers and sellers, particularly farmers trying to retire, need to be looked at before a review would be conducted. He also wants to see a better resource for the public to search land ownership.

"One of the most important things that we can do in this province, when it comes to land, is actually have a complete searchable database. Who are the corporations that are buying it, who are the people behind the corporations that are buying it," he said 

"That should be public knowledge because we are in an emergency."

Both the Greens and the PCs agreed that a more robust database is needed, particularly in relation to land ownership by corporations.

The Liberal government was in the process of reviewing land ownership before the writ was dropped, a preliminary review was released in March. At that time, Environment Minister Richard Brown said he would continue to work to address concerns about land protection.

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