Part A: Ministry of Agriculture and Lands — Continued

Strategic Context

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

World class food, agriculture and Crown land management systems that contribute to the prosperity of all British Columbians.

Mission

To:

• Promote sustainable food and agriculture systems that are part of the province's economic, environmental and social fabric.
• Provide best management of Crown land resources through integrated planning and allocation of rights for the benefit of all citizens.

Values

The ministry's values are consistent with and enhance government-wide corporate values. These value statements shape and guide development of our strategies, our decision-making and how the organization and its employees interact with clients and each other. The ministry strives to conduct its business in a manner that is:

Fair and Equitable — We build and maintain an effective spirit of teamwork and co-operation based on trust, integrity, flexibility and innovation. We value our diverse workforce and create a work environment that is welcoming and inclusive. We listen to each other and remain receptive to ideas regardless of their origin. We engage people at all levels of the ministry as we communicate our expectations and decisions. We balance personal and workplace expectations and strive to keep both in mind as we meet the demands of public service.

Responsible and Accountable — We emphasize responsible use of government resources and transparency in accounting for the use of those resources.

Service-oriented — We respond to the needs of the public, sector groups, communities and staff in a timely and courteous manner. We treat each other and those we serve with fairness, dignity and compassion.

Goal-oriented — We strive to improve our performance and recognize our progress. We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit by providing the tools for staff to make decisions to manage risks and achieve results.

Planning Context and Key Strategic Issues

Opportunities and Challenges

Food, Agriculture and Aquaculture Sectors

Within an effective government policy framework, B.C.'s food, agriculture and aquaculture sectors can continue to achieve economic growth while managing environmental and social expectations. During the last decade, employment and production in the agriculture and food sectors have remained steady or continued to grow when many other sectors have declined or lost markets due to trade issues, or global or local recession. This resilience provides a stabilizing influence on many of B.C.'s resource-based communities.

Opportunities

Economic contribution: The food system is an important contributor to the B.C. economy, with nearly $23 billion in consumer sales and more than 282,000 jobs supported in the province. The food, agriculture and fisheries sectors are diverse, with more than 200 commodities being produced in agriculture and some 100 species of fish and shellfish harvested or raised in B.C. waters. The province has over 2,400 food processing businesses as part of the food system. This provides many opportunities for innovation, adding-value and marketing.

Size and scale: The smaller-sized food businesses in British Columbia enable the food system to be more responsive and adaptable to changes in the marketplace. Continued industry efforts to diversify with higher-value products and target niche markets, supported by government improving market access, is a strength of the B.C. industry.

Regulatory reform: The province's shift to outcome-based regulations enables innovation, and provides industry greater flexibility in responding to regulatory requirements that safeguard the public interest. New policy and governance mechanisms in the regulated marketing commodity sectors increase flexibility and market responsiveness.

Challenges

Global markets for agricultural and food products are highly competitive: B.C.'s agriculture and seafood industries compete in international markets where competitors with similar or lower cost structures enjoy greater economies of scale and create downward pressures on food commodity prices. Some competitors, including those in Europe, the United States and Japan, receive large government subsidies, and B.C.'s access to markets is often reduced by trade and non-trade barriers. The higher value of the Canadian dollar in 2004 has had a detrimental impact on exports, particularly in B.C.'s export-dependent seafood and horticulture industries.

Consumer concerns about food safety: The safety and quality of food and water, and in border security continue to have a high profile. This increases the challenge to the food, agriculture and aquaculture industries to provide assurance that products meet recognized safety standards. The implementation of systems for standards, certification and product tracking/tracing is costly and time-consuming, and rarely results in increased returns to the producers.

Environmental values must be balanced with economic viability: Public concern about the environment (and increasingly animal welfare) is high, and industry growth must be managed in an environmentally sustainable way. With the highest ratio of livestock-to-land base in Canada, manure volumes are putting environmental pressure on Fraser Valley farms. British Columbia has included livestock methane emissions as part of its climate change strategy. As important, the ministry must ensure world class environmental standards for the aquaculture industry and strong compliance and enforcement.

Governments are key partners in building a prosperous economy: There is extensive overlap in jurisdiction and interests among all orders of government. Effective relations with the federal government, other provinces, First Nations and local governments are an ongoing challenge, and are essential to achieving B.C.'s food, agriculture and aquaculture sector interests.

Extreme weather patterns and market prices increase the vulnerability of the sector: The agriculture and food industries are challenged by significant and unpredictable weather conditions, market situations and disease crises. These weather and market conditions create wide fluctuations in income and prices, leading to instability for farmers and processors and the economies of local communities. These risks can affect investment decisions at the farm level and can lead to under-investment that may affect output and efficiencies in the long run.

Crown Land Sector

British Columbia's natural resource wealth is globally significant and its contribution to the economic, environmental and social well-being of the province is profound. The vast majority of the land base (94 per cent of the provincial land area) and the resources within it remain under Crown ownership. The province has a responsibility to provide leadership and direction in the administration and allocation of Crown land to ensure sustainable use for the benefit of all citizens.

Opportunities

A leader in sustainability: British Columbia has an opportunity to demonstrate world leadership in sustainable resource use. Since the vast majority of the province's resource wealth is a publicly owned asset, the province has the explicit responsibility to manage it in the interests of today's citizens and for the benefit of future generations.

Integrated policy framework for land use policy: The new Crown Land Administration Division, within the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, gives British Columbia the opportunity to build an integrated, responsive and strategic Crown land policy framework that will help the province ensure that it receives optimum values from Crown land that reflect an appropriate balance of social, economic and environmental objectives.

Challenges

Ensuring sustainable benefits to British Columbians: Defining and advancing the public interest in Crown land management and allocation requires the consideration and balancing of a wide range of environmental, social and economic values and objectives. Decision support tools must be updated and kept current in a dynamic and ever-changing provincial, global and social and economic context.

First Nations: Supreme Court of Canada decisions concerning First Nations consultation and accommodation have had a major influence on the ministry and the province. Success requires productive, respectful relationships with First Nations.

Commodity markets: Strong commodity markets, particularly in energy and minerals, have resulted in on-going, high levels of demand for the province's resource planning and tenuring services. External industry and other stakeholder clients are also demanding greater ease of access and the ability to work more closely with the province.

Investment climate: Continued investment in the B.C. economy and the creation of sustainable jobs requires investor confidence. Security of access to Crown resources, and timely planning and tenuring services are two key issues that currently affect investor confidence.

Contaminated sites: British Columbians have inherited a legacy of provincial contaminated sites from a time when resource practices and environmental regulations were vastly different. Today, there is clear leadership and a coordinated policy on managing and remediating contaminated sites on provincial lands. Inventorying these sites, developing better information about them and remediation to mitigate environmental and human health risks remains a challenge.