A former commissioner and the NDP opposition are calling for a budget increase to B.C.’s popular agriculture land commission after an auditor general’s report found it is too weak to do its job.

Auditor general John Doyle found in a special report the commission’s staff doesn’t have enough money or backing from government to protect B.C. farm land.

Among the findings are that the commission is working with dated paper maps from the 1970s, can’t enforce its rulings because it doesn’t have adequate staff and doesn’t work closely enough with municipal governments.

The result is a land reserve that is declining in quality, with higher capability lands in southern B.C. being excluded and replaced by lower-value lands in the North. Doyle said the commission and the protected reserve are more important than ever in light of concerns about climate change and the effect on food production worldwide.

Kamloops rancher Holly Campbell, who served as a commissioner for seven years until 2009, said lack of funding has long been a problem. The commission’s budget is down by a third since the B.C. Liberal government took power eight years ago.

“In many ways we’re lucky to have the ALR. It doesn’t matter what government is in power, they want an ALR but they have to fund it.”

Campbell agreed that lack of enforcement hurts the commission’s mandate of protecting B.C. farmland from development.

“It’s always been a problem enforcing decisions…. It’s a mockery if a decision is made and no funds are there to carry it through.”

NDP critic Lana Popham called the report a condemnation of the Liberal government, which she said pledges support for agriculture but robs the commission of power and resources to protect it.

“What this says is the provincial government doesn’t think agriculture is important. They’ve under funded the ministry and the commission and made them ineffective.”

Popham said she is particularly concerned commission staff is working with dated and worn paper maps that are almost 40 years old.

“That’s lost history and means it can’t use the technology of today… .That means poor decisions are being made.”

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake, who chaired B.C.’s ranching task force, said the government will look at the report as part of its budgeting. He also noted the report said poor mapping means areas of poor agricultural quality remain in the reserve when they shouldn’t be there.

“The No. 1 finding is the ALC doesn’t have a really good handle on land in the reserve, whether it’s suitable for agricultural use or not.”

But Campbell said that’s an easy argument.

“There are lots of areas outside the land reserve that should be there. Everyone wants to get out what shouldn’t be there. There’s not too much push to get in what should be.”

cfortems@kamloopsnews.ca