The coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands was recently invited to make a presentation to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability.
We welcomed this opportunity to present our concerns and make recommendations. We were surprised that one committee member seemed intent on using this precious time to ask irrelevant questions and was given an inordinate amount of time for this. He obviously did not agree with our presentation. Rather than use the time for a discussion of our differences, he appeared to want to focus on whether we had watched him proposing an amendment to the Lands Protection Act in the Legislature. He might be surprised to know that we have more substantial things to research. The whole thing was a moot point since the amendment proposed by this member of the Third Party, was defeated in the Legislature.
Our coalition is made up of volunteers who stay on top of all things concerning land on P.E.I. We do this on our own dime, spending much of our precious spare time working together to change P.E.I. for the better. Unlike the MLA in question, Minister of Agriculture in a former government, this is not our job. He is well paid to do what he does. He could afford to better prepare himself so that he would at least attempt to understand different perspectives submitted by concerned citizens. The problem is not a lack of solid, well-researched input from the community.
The problem is a serious lack of political will to legislate in favour of what is best for Islanders and the land rather than supporting the interests of large corporations and their shareholders.
Thankfully, other members of the Standing Committee asked thoughtful questions and made insightful comments.
During our presentation, one of our Coalition’s founding members shared with the committee that she took part in her first presentation on P.E.I. land protection over 40 years ago. Sadly, the recommendations all those years ago were much the same as the ones we made to this 2021 standing committee. Over the years, there have been countless committees struck, studies done, presentations written and submissions made. After all this exhausting work, the same problems continue and many new ones plague our fragile P.E.I. lands. While we go on with endless studies and consultations, suspicious land transactions are happening at an alarming rate around us.
Our committee appreciates being given the chance to share our research with any and all committees working towards improving our relationship with P.E.I. lands. We feel we have much to share and remain hopeful that the government will soon commit to making at least some of our recommendations become reality. In future, we hope that all government-appointed committee members take their task up with enthusiasm and an honest will to learn from citizen volunteers, rather than pushing their own agenda.
Joan Diamond, on behalf of the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands
