The Regional District of Nanaimo's committee featuring farmers will continue as is, advising the board on agricultural matters.
Following board direction, staff evaluated RDN advisory committees. An agricultural advisory committee is part of the 2012 agricultural area plan, staff stated in its report, but ceasing meetings was suggested as those sorts of committees are more typically found in regions "where there is a lot of development near farmland or where there are large agricultural operations that have an impact on the surrounding area."
Reports to the agricultural committee would be instead forwarded to committee of the whole meetings occurring four times a year, RDN staff recommended.
Ben Glassen, a Nanaimo farmer, expressed concern at the board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 28, stating food security must be prioritized. The committee was not "a relic of bureaucracy," he said, and assists in agriculture plan implementation and related initiatives, and offers local perspective to the board.
He stated that Vancouver Island's food system is "fragile, but full of untapped potential."
"This is not a hollow mandate … why are we failing to act on this purpose, reduced this farmer-led committee, a vital voice for the land, and the people that steward it, to a narrow function [of] reviewing [Agricultural Land Commission] applications and now, why are we considering dissolving it altogether?" Glassen asked. "The [committee] must not be discarded, it must be empowered, given the autonomy it needs to fulfill its mandate."
When asked by Lauren Melanson, Extension-East Wellington-Pleasant Valley director, to elaborate on how the committee could be empowered, Glassen suggested it should be allowed to realize its potential.
"The main function in the past few years … has been to review the ALC applications for changes of use," he said. "Allowing the [committee] to do work beyond that, using them as a tool for reference, in any sense, would be a big improvement."
Tyler Brown, City of Nanaimo director, proposed a motion for four other committees – executive, regional parks and trails, transit and solid waste management – to be collapsed into quarterly meetings. He also apologized to the RDN board, staff and the public.
"At no point were we talking about [eliminating] advisory committee meetings where members of the public were on them and serve a slightly different function than some of our other committees…" he said. "I see it did stir a lot of conversation and maybe some angst, especially in the agricultural community, and I think that's very unfortunate."
Brown also proposed the solid waste plan monitoring advisory committee be maintained. The motions passed.