Island farmers want the province to beef up enforcement against ATV joyriders who have caused serious damages to crops and property and provide compensation for farm lands taken out of production for construction and development projects.
The two points of interest were part of a list resolutions approved by the Federation of Agriculture during its recent annual meeting.
The issue of farmland use focuses heavily on the proposals for changing the route of the Trans Canada highway through Crapaud and Tryon.
“We’re talking about unauthorized people using all terrain vehicles on farmers’ private property,’’ says Bertha Campbell, chair of the federation. “Several farmers have had crops; livestock and property severely damaged by ATVs and in many cases were unable to find out the identity of the operator.”
Campbell said the word ‘unauthorized’ is important because farmers, as well as their families and staff, use ATVs at times.
“The problem arises with trespassers driving through without permission,’’ she explained, noting government should increase the enforcement of the Trespass Act and Off Highway Vehicle Act to prevent more damage on private farms.
The issue of compensation for farmland is a hot topic because of the proposed changes to the TCH through Queens County regions.
The motion stated that if projects do impact agricultural land, a new policy should allow for “timely advance notice” and “fair compensation” for both renters and users of the land.
“We’re just asking that every possible effort to protect agricultural land be taken when projects such as new roads are being considered,’’ she said. “Agricultural land must be seen as the precious and finite resource it is…a necessity for feeding people.”
The federation is also intending to lobby the Canada Revenue Agency to have wind turbines qualify for an investment tax credit under the Income Tax Act. Many farmers have invested heavily in wind energy to provide electrical power as well as generating additional income on farms.
@ SILKY.... The reason is that Canada does not entrench property rights in our constitution. The Crown holds right to all property, regardless of whether it is private or public. But you can still be charged if you trespass on private property and that's what should happen to these ATV operators. This is only going to get worse. PEI is always 30 years behind other provinces and the only reason that ATVs haven't been as big a problem over the past decade is that there isn't much public land in rural areas to operate them.... and rural PEI is quite poor with people barely able to afford cars, let alone toys like an ATV. That's changing though.