Affichage de 74 résultats

File consists of a transcript of an oral history interview with Marilyn Wheeler.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Environment Committee entitled "The Canada Land Inventory, Land Capability Analysis and the Chamber of Commerce".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"GGR makes the point in opening that the Chamber of Commerce may not be a group the public normally associates with concern for the environment but he feels it is time to correct this fallacy.

This speech is of value, if for nothing else, for the outline provided of the origin of the Canada Land Inventory (page 2).

Interestingly in the light of a future Land Commission publication, GGR uses the phrase "...with proper inventory information perhaps we would have left some of our options open". The 15 page B.C. Land Commission booklet published in March 1975 [was titled 'The B.C. Land Commission: Keeping the Options Open']."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Physical Resource Data Needs in Land Use Planning" which was given at a technical workshop to develop an integrated approach to base data inventories for Canada's Northland.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"While the speech is not related to agriculture or farmland preservation directly, GGR emphasises the importance of data collection and mapping and its use in the planning process. The general principles he discusses were those employed in the development of the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The proceedings of the workshop were published in 1979 by Environment Canada." The proceedings are available online at: https://www.geostrategis.com/PDF/1974-04-17%20remote%20sensing%20for%20northen%20surveys%20and%20environmental%20monitoring-jean%20Thie%20CCRS%20copy.pdf

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the BC Federation of Labour Environmental Conference entitled "Planned Development and Land Conservation".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"GGR discusses the 'problem' of land being considered as either an "ecological natural resource" or "hot commodity".

He mentions that his background is in the natural sciences and land use planning and prefers to look at land as an ecological resource, not simply as a commodity.

The speech includes a quick review of the Land Commission's work and with reference to the Land Commission Act he makes the following observation (p.2):
"...the purpose is hardly necessary to relate to you - as what animal survives that destroys his food habitat next to his shelter or cover?"

The reason for BC's farmland preservation program could hardly be better stated."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Resource Use Conflicts - The Fight Over What's Left" at the Canadian Bar Association Winter Meeting, Harrison Hot Springs.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The panel discussion that GGR was participating in was entitled "Resource Use Conflicts - The Fight over What's Left".

GGR makes the point that without legislative steps to preserve agricultural land in BC, what would be left in terms of farmland in not too many years would be "nothing at all". After this reinforcement of the need for the Land Commission Act he explains briefly the designation of the ALRs and comments at length on the different types of applications.

It is explained that the ALR is based upon agricultural capabilities of the land:
"In other words, a soil/climate combination. The ALR is aimed at preserving agricultural land in the long term. Factors, such as parcel size, economic viability, current market conditions, ownership etc. play little or no role in the decision-making process."

In light of a considerable amount of the Commission's workload being focused on the processing of applications GGR remarks that:
"If we are sincere in our attempts to preserve an agricultural land base for future generations of British Columbians, we must regard the ALR as only a first step of many that are needed."

A flow chart is referred to but not included in the package."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "B.C. Agricultural Land Preservation Program". This speech was originally given on March 23, 1977 at the Sol Conservation Society of America National Symposium. Includes a version of the speech turned into a paper submitted for publication as "British Columbia's Agricultural Land Preservation Program" in the Assessors Journal. The speech and paper is accompanied by:

• supplementary transparencies for presentation
• Resume for G. Gary Runka
• Canada Land Inventory Ratings
• Summary of Applications Processed under the Land Commission Act
• Areas Included and Excluded from the ALR by Year
• Flow Chart for Applications under the Agricultural Land Commission Act

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech was given on March 23, 1977 and represents a major paper given to an international audience.

GGR provides a contextual overview of B.C. and breaks his speech into an overview of the legislation, how the ALR was established and the administration of the Reserve.

The speech, in part, draws upon themes in other speeches but this paper tends to pull all these subjects together in this single presentation.

GGR notes that up to this point 80% of the exclusion applications are from non-farmers and it is estimated that the program has saved 40,000 acres (16,187 ha.) of farmland from being converted to irreversible uses.

GGR outlines several key principles to having a successful program to preserve agricultural land including:

• Regulations must be based on solid technical data people can understand;
• Any control mechanism needs to be basically apolitical;
• Must include shared decision-making - local governments and the public were involved in creating the ALR plans and local governments continue to provide comments and recommendations on applications; and
• Ensure opportunity for integration and communication with the Ministry of Agriculture and other provincial government agencies and Advisory Committees of the B.C. Federation of Agriculture.

This speech was published as part of the symposium proceedings: "Land Use, Tough Choices in Today's World: The Proceedings of a
National Symposium, March 21-24,1977, in Omaha, Nebraska" by the Soil Conservation Society of America."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the BC Provincial Seed Fair in Fort St. John entitled "Land Use Planning and the Farmer".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Given the title and the audience, this speech reads like a wake-up call to farmers to pay attention to land use planning issues and get involved. Despite the available copy of the speech appearing as a draft the nature of the topic - farmers needing to get involved in land use planning - establishes a point that GGR obviously feels is important in the overall effort to preserve agricultural land.

The speech includes several examples of land use planning that can affect the agricultural industry including:

• Rural zoning by local governments and the provincial ALR zoning;
• Hydro-electric planning (a reference in all probability to Site C);
• Preparation of regional, community and particularly settlement plans;
• Industrial land development strategies;
• Federal fisheries legislation;
• Transportation planning;
• Crown land lease proposals;
• Water resources;
• Various other land use initiatives involving wildlife habitat, open space recreation, historic and archeological sites; and
• Taxation and assessment policy

Stapled to the original typed speech is a set of hand written notes (not copied) that are largely identical to the typed version. The typed version does have a few mysterious blanks but when checking the handwritten version the blanks may simply represent illegibility problems with the hand writing at the time of typing. Given these blanks, this may in fact have been a first draft of the speech with a cleaner copy typed up prior to delivery."

File consists of an untitled speech about resource conflicts given by Gary Runka to the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) Annual General Meeting in Vancouver.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The original version consists of 3 pages of hand-written notes that were accompanied by slides (not available). The hand written notes have been transcribed.

GGR outlined several societal needs and wants but emphasises that we don't have enough land to provide for all these needs and desires if we keep planning in a haphazard manner.

He urges environmentalists to be prepared technically and avoid the image of being opposed to everything. He calls for greater integration in dealing with resource issues.

GGR was the keynote, guest speaker at the meeting."

File consists of the written personal reflections of Gary Runka for the "'Ten Years of Agricultural Land Preservation", December 1983.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"These personal reflections were prepared by GGR for publication in the ALC's document commemorating its 10th anniversary entitled "Ten Years of Agricultural Land Preservation". These reflections form pages 33 - 35 of this 61 page document.

The reflections portray the hectic start of the Land Commission's work but also inform us of GGR's role prior to becoming the Commission's first General Manager. As noted, "I had been extensively involved in drawing up the "suggested ALR plans" for the various regional districts while working with the Soils Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture." He then accompanied the Commission on their initial meetings with regional districts and local governments around the province.

The fact that GGR played a key role in developing the CLI mapping (an important basis of the ALR), then was involved with drawing up the suggested ALR plans, followed by his efforts as ALC General Manager to implement the Reserve plans, and finally sign off on the completed ALR plan map sheets, arguably makes Gary Runka, like no other person, the "Father of the ALR"."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Habitat, Land Use Planning, Economics and the Land Owner" to the 43rd Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference in Regina.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Winter Range for Ungulates" for the Symposium on Threatened Species and Habitats in British Columbia and the Yukon.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "The Rural-Urban Continuum: Tough Land Use Choices Ahead" for the Vernon Rotary Rural-Urban Day.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech / paper does cover some old ground dealt with in other speeches but is nicely brought together here.

GGR outlines several competing land uses and uses agriculture as a starting point in setting the stage by noting that there are just 74,400 food producers and 2,400,000 other British Columbians.

An emphasis is placed on communications, especially since most planners and politicians are overwhelmingly urban oriented. When involved with rural planning it is important to understand the rural side of the fence and look back at the urban area rather than the other way around. This means "understanding the natural characteristics of the land resource and its ecosystems."

Seven issues are considered:

1. Short-sighted premises - the supply of land is limitless and the individual has the right to use his
   land as he wishes without affecting others;
2. The interdependence of man within natural systems is not fully appreciated;
3. Reluctance of rural people to accept planning programs;
4. Institutions and organizations reflect rural reality;
5. Sprawl is not confined to urban areas and when it affects the rural area it can be a large problem;
6. The dilemma of wanting data to make good land use decisions, but while we wait for information,
   bad decision are being made; and
7. What is politically palatable?

The speech ends with the need for rural and urban communities to be mutually supportive. While farmland preservation isn't central to this speech the rural resource and planning theme is relevant."

File consists of a panel moderation talk given by Gary Runka entitled "Methods of Resolving Land Use Conflicts in BC".

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Soil Conservation Issues: How Serious are They?" for a BCFA Soil Conservatiori Seminar - March 10,1987.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Stressing the importance of soil conservation, this speech begins by noting that all land and water users (not just agriculture) - on-site or off-site - are involved with soil conservation.

The paper is broken into 3 sections:
(1) Framework Considerations in which the diversity of BC's landform and climate is noted. The key soil conservation issues from a provincial perspective are reviewed including:

• erosion;
• sedimentation;
• acidification;
• organic matter loss; and
• soil compaction.

(2) Economic Considerations - the estimated loss annually in agriculture due to soil erosion is 30 to 50 million dollars.
(3) Legislation and Institutional Structure Considerations - BC is noted as having no provincial legislation that has soil conservation as its main thrust.

While the ALC Act and ALR are not directly mentioned, soil conservation is an important associated issue related to farmland preservation."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Working Together Towards Identifying and Protecting Land for Nature in the Kamloops Area" to an unknown audience.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Landscape Level Planning - Fitting People into the Watershed" at the Stewarding Our Watersheds Conference.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The first half of this speech takes a very broad sweep in defining landscape units and the provincial planning system. In the second section "Entering the People Use Maze", the paper focuses more locally on the Salmon River watershed and discusses the findings of a survey associated with the Langley Rural Plan.

The survey results demonstrated that for both rural and non-rural residents in Langley, 'the country atmosphere' was why they had chosen to live in Langley. Residents also disagreed with the statement that it was unpleasant to live in an agriculture area.

The third section - "Techniques of Integrating Balanced, Sustainable People Use" into the Watershed" considers eight tools that will assist achieving "landscape level" planning, one of which is the ALC Act.

Besides these direct references to agriculture, country atmosphere and ALC Act; the Langley Rural Plan drew heavily on the survey that GGR refers to and the Plan, which was largely comprised of agricultural lands, was inspirational in the development of the Commission of work "Planning for Agriculture".

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Managing Conservation Lands to keep Nature's Pulse Beating" for the BC Trust for Public Lands.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"GGR's was the opening address at the workshop. While this speech is focused on the issue of Best Management Practices (BMP), comments about the ALR are woven into the presentation. This copy of the speech appears to be a draft version and includes several hand-written amendments with some points crossed out.

In the opening, mention is made of the grounding that the 2008 document "Taking Nature's Pulse: the Status of Biodiversity in British Columbia" has provided the workshop.

This speech provides an historical overview of the broader provincial context of BMP's drawn from 40 years of GGR's experience. The following is a selection of his comments:

• BMP's are part of the "tool kit" of policy and management mechanisms that have been experimented with over the decades to try to rationalize human economic activities with the needs of other species and overall ecosystem well-being.
• Historically the 1960s and 70s Canada Land Inventory program that emerged from the Resources for Tomorrow conferences was a significant benchmark mapping land capability for agriculture, forestry, recreation, wildlife and waterfowl use (of which GGR was centrally involved).
• Within BC, using the CLI, the 1973 Land Commission Act authorized the establishment of a provincial zone to protect those sacred lands with the biophysical capability to grow food.

One point was not used in the speech (crossed out). The speaking notes, however, include a reference to the Land Commission legislation originally having a complimentary conservation objective that had since been removed. GGR makes the point that still having the conservation function may have contributed positively to current struggles to preserve natural habitat. Regardless, it is noted that the concept of the ALR has been a unique, effective and, most importantly a lasting management practices tool for conserving lands identified as biophysically significant.

A further selection of points made:

• We need to evolve BMP tools that are adaptable yet resilient in the face of changing knowledge, climate change and ever-evolving social priorities.
• Traditionally, planning has been most associated with local governments in the form of official community, regional and neighbourhood plans and as an outgrowth of the ALR - Agricultural Area Plans.
• Environment Farm Planning - by agreeing to engage in the conservation planning process, participating farmers and ranchers have qualified for funding to carry out farm improvements benefitting conservation and biodiversity.
• The work of the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust is outlined (p. 8)
• "My final words of wisdom are - Be focused and be pragmatic"
• "Many of the best intentions to standardize land management practices for conservation lands have been great on paper - but never quite make it on the ground."
• And, if BMP are not implemented effectively on the ground, they cannot play the critical role they need to play in 'keeping nature's pulse beating'."

File consists of a transcript of an oral history interview with the Groenvelds.

File consists of a transcript of an oral history interview with Jack Long.

This external hard drive contains back-up files from Gary Runka and Joan Sawicki's computers. The digital files consist of personal, professional, and business records. Includes textual documents (PDF and Word format), spreadsheets (Excel), digital images (JPEG), and email backup files.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Relationship Between A.R.D.A. Soil Capability Ratings and Soil Productivity Ratings".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is a very useful overview of the agricultural capability ratings.

While no mention is of course made in this (circa) 1969 speech to the BC farmland preservation program, its value rests in the importance of the BCLI in the original designation the ALR and its future administration.

For anyone that is or has been involved with the farmland preservation program, this single sentence within the speech, made about 4 or 5 years before the designation of the ALR, provides an important insight into the value of the CLI and its relationship to farmland preservation. "For example. Class 5 soils while restricted in use to pasture or hay can produce very high yields."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the Canada Soil Survey Committee in Ottawa entitled "Land Capability Analysis".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is a fairly technical speech explaining the history, and mechanics of the evolving land capability analysis process in BC. It gives insight into this early period in which there was a fair amount of trial and error to develop the best techniques to display and utilize information.

From an agricultural perspective the speech notes (p.5) that compatibility between agriculture and other sectors is not high. The speech demonstrates what would emerge as an important link between Land Capability Analysis and the ALR. On page 7 "possible predictions that will result in land use conflicts but perhaps better long range planning" are insightful and in the case of this statement, reads like a tentative foreshadowing of the BC farmland preservation program that would emerge in about two years.

"(1) Agriculture - "(c) Conservation of agricultural land through rural zoning of those high capability and high productivity soils, near markets."

It is unknown if the use of the acronym C.S.S.C was intended to refer to the "Canada Soil Survey Committee", which held its eighth meeting in Ottawa in 1970, or to the "Canadian System of Soil Classification. Regardless, for more information on the subject a copy of the 1998 / 187 page report by the Soil Classification Working Group entitled, "The Canadian System of Soil Classification" can be found here: https://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/publications/manuals/1998-cssc-ed3/cssc3_manual.pdf "

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka at UBC entitled "Land Capability Analysis".

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the Agricultural Institute of Canada entitled "Managing Our Land Resources for Survival and Pleasure".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech is aimed at land use planning and planners, and GGR provides his definition of "ecology" which includes:
"...the basic characteristics of the land - its geology, soils, climate, vegetation, and animal life, including the devil that does the most damage, man. It also includes the interrelationships within these basic characteristics and of course this is where the word "complexities" comes in. There are no two places where these components combine in exactly the same manner and each ecological unit, if you like, is unique."

GGR mentions the importance of considering options.

This package includes a copy of the speech as well as a second, 2 page document, with the same title in which GGR is noted as 'Manager of the BC Land Commission'. This second document is largely a summary of the more formal speech."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Problems and Solutions: The BC Land Commission Experience" at the Conference on Agricultural Land Preservation in Washington State at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech, written for and delivered to an international audience, reads like an article aimed at providing an historical overview of the first three years of the work of the Land Commission.

While succinct, it also has the quality of a comprehensive overview. Up to this point this is the best item in the collection explaining the background of the legislation, implementation and administrative challenges of the Commission over its first three years of operation.

Given when it was written - at a time when the formative history of the Land Commission was being made and by a person in the very centre of this history who was day-by-day helping to create this history - this is a singularly important document."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the Canadian Council on Rural Development entitled "Land Use Control".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is another important document.

GGR covers several points including a discussion of the impact of changes to rural areas from the food producer's perspective. He notes that local governments are not well positioned to effectively achieve farmland preservation - but there is a need for a coordinated approach.

The point is made that good rural planning depends on good urban planning.

A summary is made of efforts at rural planning and farmland preservation in other North American jurisdictions. An example is outlined of the complexity of overlapping land use controls and returns to a common theme - "merging the reality of land as a commodity with the ethic of land as a natural resource"."

File consists of a contribution to a workshop given by Gary Runka entitled "The Use of Bio-Physical Information - BC Land Commission Overview". Includes excerpts from the Proceedings from the Workshop on Ecological Land Classification in Urban Areas, Canadian Committee on Ecological Land Classification, 23 & 24 Nov. 1976, Toronto.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Besides a copy of the speech, the package includes + a letter from Ed Wiken of the Canada Committee on Ecological (Bio-Physical) Land Classification to G.G. Runka dated October 1977 and a "Notice of Publication" + 1 copy of the published paper entitled "The Use of Biophysical Information - B.C. Land Commission Overview" by G.G. Runka, Chairman, B.C. Land Commission.

This speech was given to a workshop in Toronto and very closely resembles and reads like a draft of the published (polished) 3 page paper.

GGR remarks that:
"As you can appreciate, we often find ourselves in the centre of politically sensitive issues. For this and other reasons, the Commission might be described as being on the "firing line" with regards to the use of bio-physical information - it is the basis of our agricultural zoning and the basis of our everyday decisions regarding applications under the Act and changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve."

The speech and paper provide an important overview on the role of the Canada Land Inventory (CLI) agricultural capability ratings in the designation of the ALR and is especially important because the paper is written by the individual who was central to both the development of the CLI in B.C. and designation of the ALR.

The published paper forms pages 141 to 143 of the 167 page proceedings of the 1976 workshop."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Agricultural Land Commission 1978 - What's Happening?" to a UBC Soil Science and Land Use Planning Seminar.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is simply a single page outline of a speech given at a UBC Soil Science and Land Use Seminar providing an overview of the farmland preservation program to date.

The outline is broken into 5 sections:

1. Brief History (of the legislation, designation of the ALR and program administration);
2. Fine Tuning (of the ALR);
3. Grazing Lands;
4. Settlement and Community Plans; and
5. The "young farmer" program"

The actual speech based on this outline is not included."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Urban Growth Impact on Rangelands in British Columbia" for the Society for Range Management - Pacific Northwest Section in Spokane, Washington.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"In this speech GGR focuses on a single example of the Lauder Ranches at Glimpse Lake (north east of Merritt and about 12 km north of Douglas Lake) and states that his perspective for the purpose of his presentation is to look through the eyes of one that perceives the utilization of the forage resource to best advantage is for red meat production as opposed to the view of the urban planner.

In this example it appears the "urban" land use is a proposal to subdivide land along the lake shore for residential / recreation purposes.

GGR outlines the potential impacts on the long standing ranching operation. In his summary he mentions his concern with regard to recent changes to the (now) Agricultural Land Commission Act in stating, "...I think recent amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission Act opening appeal of Commission decisions to the political arm is going to cause serious problems (politicians do not understand the impact question)..." This is a reference to the appeal mechanism to ELUC.

There is also an appeal for beef producers to get involved more directly in planning and political processes which is a theme GGR has expressed in previous speeches."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Land Use Planning and the Nursery Trades" to the BC Nursery Trades Association.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The primary thrust of the speech is to outline several pieces of legislation and other land uses that may have an impact on the nursery trade use of land including:

1. Federal Fisheries Act;
2. Municipal & regional district bylaws and plans;
3. Agricultural Land Commission Act;
4. Soil Conservation Act;
5. Water Act and Floodplain Regulation;
6. Forest and Range Acts; and
7. Your neighbours changing land-use activities.

GGR comments (p 2) that, "...exclusion (of land from the ALR) is only allowed on lands not capable of agricultural use where no impact would be effected on adjacent farmlands, or where absolutely no alternative for the alternate use proposed exists." This clarifies that land in the ALR, even if it is proven unsuitable for agriculture, may remain in the ALR if its exclusion impacts adjacent farmland. On the other hand, pressure on the ALR is acknowledged where claims can be successfully mounted that no alternative exists for a proposed use, demonstrating the continual vulnerability of the ALR and the need to be able to clearly assess claims of "no alternative".

Foreshadowing the need for agricultural area planning, GGR suggests (p. 3) that it is important that, "... attempts be made to encourage local agricultural use planning so as to reduce conflicts within agriculture and with your urban neighbours."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Agricultural Land Preservation - Some of the Problems" to an unknown audience, possibly a political caucus. A "Process Chart" of the B.C. Agricultural Land Commission Act is attached to the speech.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech was given several months after GGR's resignation as Chair of the Commission in January, 1979. There is no specific indication of who the speech was given to but mention is made to "caucus members" (p. 4) and therefore may have been the NDP caucus.

Specific mention is made to the opportunity to undermine the program by the Section 9(8) changes to the Act. (This is a reference to allowing the Minister of Agriculture to forward appeals of Commission's decisions to the Environment and Land Use Committee of Cabinet if no two Commissioners give leave to appeal)..

Mention is also made to the need for the Commission to be aware of problems affecting agriculture if it is to be the true defender of agricultural interests. Reference (p. 3) is made to the Commission being: "... too busy attending to applications to take a seriously positive role to ensure that present and future land use conflicts ... are minimized."

GGR also raises his concern with attempts to narrow the definition of "agricultural land" by suggestions that CLI Class 4 - 7 lands be automatically excluded from the ALR. He also expresses the need to be concerned with land use planning outside the ALR.

GGR criticizes "a less than positive attitude by government" (to farmland preservation) and calls for the need for a provincial land use strategy."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Proposed Hydro Development - Peace River Valley: Some Questions" to the Peace Valley Environmental Association in Dawson Creek. Note that page 3 of the speech appears to be missing.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The speech discusses some broad questions particularly related to the lack of a provincial energy policy, the approval process and varying estimates of future energy needs and alternatives. GGR quotes the position of the ALC of October 1977 and also reviews the legal powers under the ALC Act and ends by outlining several questions he feels the Association has the right to ask and get answers to."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Land Resource Issues in BC" at a UBC seminar.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech / paper asks the question, "Are we in fact making any real progress towards resolving .... land resource conflicts...?"

A discussion is introduced that land resource issues are rural planning issues and as such they impact rural people and their lifestyle and thus translate to lifestyle issues. GGR suggests that planners are urban oriented and they should stand on the rural side of the fence and look back at the urban areas rather than the other way around.

Too often in government an agency's interests are paramount and insist that others tag along as long as they don't interfere with the prime use thrust. A concern is also expressed with "...too many waves of single use legislative power coming to the fore..." It is noted that the "...goal of any regulatory program should be to protect important public interests."

The paper concludes by considering a few current land resource issues including:

1. Forestry-Agriculture
2. Grazing land tenure transfer
3. Fisheries - Agriculture - Forestry - Urban
4. Energy - Agriculture
5. Urban-Rural
6. Energy-Lifestyles
7. Wildlife - Recreation - Energy
8. Agriculture and Recreation Lands - Foreign Ownership and Influence

While farmland preservation isn't central to this speech the rural resource and planning theme is relevant."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Land Resource Issues in BC and the Tough Choices Ahead" for the Surrey Rotary.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech, with the exception of the beginning and the ending is largely the cobbling together of two previous speeches. The new introduction draws upon several headlines from contemporary newspaper articles as examples involving land and water use decision-making. The next several pages largely repeat portions of [2020.4.2.1.42] "The Rural - Urban Continuum: Tough Land Use Choices Ahead". The latter half of the speech draws from [2020.4.2.1.44] "Land Resource Issues in B.C. - UBC Seminar".

The speech ends with a suggestion that there is a faint light at the end of the tunnel offered by the proposed "Planning Act". The speech closes with 3 broad concepts for consideration:

1. Land and water use planning is fundamental in determining the economic opportunity and environmental quality of the future;
2. Good rural planning demands good urban planning and the race for space will accelerate; and
3. There is a need to reflect on the interdependence of man within natural systems in our planning for rural and urban land and water.

While farmland preservation isn't central to this speech the rural resource and planning theme is relevant."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Expanding Needs from a Finite Resource: the Necessity for Sound Land Use Planning" for the Manitoba Land Use Conference Land User for the 80's - Private Rights and Public Interests, March 11 & 12,1981.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The conference theme of "Private Rights and Public Interests" is one that GGR often turned to. In this fairly lengthy speech GGR pulls together, in one paper, many of the themes and positions he has turned to in other speeches. He explains the 'land and water maze' and lists 12 uses competing for limited land and water resources. It is noted that the imbalance between agriculture vs urban uses, due to urban uses commanding much higher values resulting in agriculture finding itself in a defensive position, is discussed.

As the conference theme enunciates - GGR explores the tug-of-war between the myth of limitless land and community needs vs property rights and the fallacy that individual land use decisions do not impact the larger community. GGR emphasises the slowness of changing attitudes and the even slower political response and policy change. The confusion of jurisdiction concerning what level of government is best positioned to deal with resources issues is considered. GGR emphasizes the need to plan the use of land resources in an integrated and comprehensive fashion and the need for shared decision making.

Policy 3 of Manitoba's Regulation #217/80 - "Rural residential development should not be thought of, nor normally planned, as an evolutionary step from a rural landscape to an urban development" is noted. It is emphasized that the planning process has to catch up with the rural reality.

Central message - the importance of planning land and water use must be in keeping with the natural characteristics of the land and the needs and values of the local community. This latter point is of interest from the point of view that local community values and plans may dash with provincial values or policy."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Agricultural Land and Land Use Decision Making in the 1980s" for the Western Land Directors' Conference, Victoria BC (June 7-11,1981).

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The speech is a collection of familiar themes but GGR's assemblage and delivery is becoming ever-more refined. The speech was accompanied by overheads but they are not included.

The paper starts with two quotes from Hans Blumenfeld and O'Malley. In the case of Blumenfeld - North Americans want to live in efficient, convenient, healthy and pleasant environment but as individuals we want to be able to make an honest dollar out of every piece of property we own. The two concepts are basically incompatible. The O'Malley quote speaks of land as a mother because she gives life, is a provider, protector and comforter.

Some (but far from all) of the important observations include:

1. integrated land use policy is slow in coming;
2. issues have to be addressed at each level of government;
3. for each use option and the resulting integrated policy framework must be established through appropriate legislation and regulation;
4. we are all well aware, there are some use demands that by definition, exclude other use demands (agriculture is highlighted as a prime example);
5. non-agricultural or urban demands vary according to location, as does the "resistance" of agriculture to the change.
6. some private demand is purely speculative, especially in an inflationary period. During these times, the demand, particularly for irreversible uses of land, often greatly exceeds the real requirements for use;
7. we have always been able to produce the "next frontier", why not now?
8. understanding the land is the most important prerequisite to its wise and proper use;
9. an integrative spirit and process is essential if sound planning is the target.

The paper ends with the following quote from Bill Moyers, "Government is the art of trying to solve problems. Politics is the art of trying to attain power. The two meet sometimes, but not often."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Western Canadian Agriculture - A Look to the Future" for an unknown audience.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"As the title suggests, this speech is largely a look at agriculture in Western Canada and therefore breaks from many of the familiar themes in GGR's speeches and includes several interesting statistics.

For example in 1921 the average Canadian farmer could feed 11 people. By 1981 the average farm could feed 56 people. [In 2012 The average farm in Canada produced enough food to feed 120 people every day.] The average Canadian expenditure of income on food after taxes:
1947 - 25%
1969 - 22%
1980 - 18%

The speech considers the following topics:
A. The changing Picture of Western Canadian Agriculture

• Energy Costs
• Cropping Options
• Northern Expansion
• Diversification, Intensification, Specialization
• Foreign Ownership

B. Agricultural Land Use Planning
C. Integrated Land Use Issues"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Sharing the Land Resource - 1990 and Beyond" for Symposium: Local Agriculture, 1990 and Beyond (CNC, FAS-UBC & BCMAF) - November 28,1981.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech starts by looking at land philosophically and states (p. 2): "We sometimes need to be reminded that we are borrowing the land resource from the next generation".

The speech includes several important points made with clarity. A few examples include:

• the need to provide adequate linkages and lines of communication between agencies and different levels of government;
• while understanding the land is prerequisite to its wise and proper use - we still have incomplete and small scale inventory work available;
• nature's laws affirm rather than prohibit. If you violate her laws, you are your own prosecuting attorney, judge, jury.... and hangman;
• do our planning and direct our growth from within the confines of natural systems to take advantage of their attributes and avoid their negative aspects; and
• we need to not only understand land and water ecosystems but the people complex as well - and a great deal of patience and interdisciplinary compromise is needed.

A number of issues are reviewed:

1. The agricultural - forestry interface
2. Urban dreams meet rural realities
3. The challenge of educating an increasingly urbanized population
4. Escalating energy costs
5. The competition for water"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Action Steps to Sustainable Agriculture" at the Forum on Sustainable Agriculture in Summerland.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech opens with a relatively broad discussion of sustainability- how defined - and how this relates to agriculture. "We've got to develop the ability to view farming in a conceptual sense, to view food production sustainability over the full horizon, including the urban world, as well as farm field."

The speech is broken into 3 sections with sub-sections:
(1) From a Practical Management Point of View. What Does "Sustainability" Mean on the Farm, Orchard or Ranch? Several points are made including the protection of land through the ALR. The principles of sustainability in, "Towards a Strategy for Sustainability" are listed.
(2) From the Food Producers Perspective, What are the Gaps in Practical Requirements to move Toward Sustainability? The points identified in the July 1994 workshop "Future of Agriculture in the Okanagan" are listed and noted as key points.
(3) With Land and Water Resources under Stress, What are the Action Steps to Regional Multicommodity Agricultural Sustainability? Under this topic seven sub-topics are explored:
a) sustainability and security of the land base with a particular emphasis on parcel size and the need for consolidation, land tenure, cost and speculation;
b) sustainability and water resources;
c) land use competition, compatibility, and planning process access - with an emphasis placed on the need for the farm community to have access to the planning process and a nod to the importance of Agricultural Advisory Committees. It is recognized that this will take an integrated effort of the ALC and Municipal Affairs;
d) vertically consistent policies and regulations from local to federal;
e) Right to Farm (with a plea to revisit the then current 'Agricultural Protection Act');
f) public education;
g) food policy; and
h) Socio-economic strategy for agriculture"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Land Use Issues and Smiling Frogs" for the Agricultural Institute of Canada Foundation.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This presentation, which was accompanied by slides (not with speaking notes) reviews five diverse land use issues of which three involve agriculture, two of which were directly linked to the ALC.

The 'Smiling Frogs' metaphor is wonderfully explained as the heat is turned up and down on land use issues and complacency is something to be avoided.

GGR was directly involved in some capacity with each of the issues reviewed and, therefore is in a position to provide an "insiders" point of view. The five issues were:

1. Burnaby Business Park (Burnaby Big Bend) - Lower Mainland - a very succinct overview is provided for this win-win accomplishment which directly involved ALC decision-making.
2. Charlotte-Alplands (West Chilcotin) - involved an exploration of forest, recreation and wilderness tourism opportunities and the identification of potential conflicts.
3. Fraser River Delta (Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust) - considers the successful coming together of agricultural and wildlife interests in an area that has both internationally significant wildlife habitat and an important part of the Pacific Flyway but also comprises one of the best agricultural areas in Canada.
4. Mid-Coast (Greenpeace and Western Forest Products) - provides insights into a very hot issue that had some success and some failure in trying to get two very opposed sides together in which the Land and Coastal Resource Management Planning process is struggling.
5. Six Mile Ranch (Kamloops) - every so often the ALC is faced with what might be referred to as an application of province wide notoriety and Six Mile Ranch assuredly fit this description. The application involved a proposal in the Kamloops area (but some distance from Kamloops) to use an area of interior grasslands ALR for urban development in the form of residential, resort and golf course. GGR sums up his feelings nicely on this land issue - "My involvement in this fiasco is indirect and that of "Citizen Runka" and perhaps more specifically as a student of government stupidity."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the Agricultural Institute of Canada Land Use Committee entitled "Land Use Control and Jurisdictional Rights".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is a first draft position paper written by GGR was developed for the Agricultural Institute of Canada, Land Use Committee.

The paper notes that attitudes are shifting from land being considered as a commodity to considering land as a natural resource. There are several references to governmental relationships, the inability to count on local governments to preserve agricultural land and the need for a federal land use policy supporting farmland preservation.

The use of a zoning tool as an effective means to preserve agricultural land is explored. The paper makes a strong case for there being no legal need for compensating land owners for regulatory land use zoning.

Included with the package are two letters written by GGR (November 7,1974) sent to Jim Lore (Alberta) and Steve Hart (Ottawa) requesting their review of the paper and input. A copy of the finalized paper, which may have been a jointly authored paper, is not included and it is not known if the paper was eventually published by the Agricultural Institute of Canada."

File consists of notes written by Joan Sawicki for an untitled pending speech by Gary Runka.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Despite this being only 4 pages of rough notes, its focus on the initial work of the Commission and challenges of designating the ALR make it an historically important document.

For example it was initially thought the ALR would be guided by class 1 - 4 CLI ratings but this proved impractical in the north and range areas. An additional challenge was that parts of the province only had the benefit of 1:50000 mapping. This presented a very real problem for establishing the ALR.

One concern with this document is that because it is written in point form and consists of rough notes, it could be open to a degree of misinterpretation if not considered by an individual with experience in the administration of the ALR. For a much more refined statement on the B.C. Agricultural Land Preservation program and the designation of the ALR see Items [2020.4.2.1.23, 2020.4.2.1.24, and 2020.4.2.1.25]."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka to the B.C.I.A. entitled "Agricultural Land Reserves and the Land Commission Act".

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"With the original package associated with this speech are 5 pages of rough notes for another speech with the same title prepared for a B.C.I.A. meeting on March 22, 1976... Given that these rough notes were held with the material associated with the April 15, 1976 meeting it is possible the B.C.I.A. meeting planned for March was shifted to the April date. Additionally there are 6 pages numbered 6-11 that are of some detail concerning the work of the Commission but appear to be part of another speech but are included with the B.C.I.A. package and have, therefore, been [included with this speech].

The title of the speech "Agricultural Land Reserves and the Land Commission Act" sums up the thrust of the speech which notes the objectives of the legislation, the Commission's program of land acquisition and Commission research and support of innovative projects to assist rural planning to create a positive environment for agriculture and give direction to urban growth away from farmland.

Additionally an overview is provided of the Commission's activities in its first two years of operation. GGR comments that establishing the ALRs "... was but a first step and we feel that it is our job to continue to protect the Reserve by whatever approaches and methods of rural planning that are available to us". This speaks to a Commission that saw its role, even at this early stage, as being much more than simply a rationing board reviewing ALR applications.

Several examples are outlined in which it is suggested that professional agrologists should be looking at carefully.

At the end of the speech (p.5) GGR includes (a note to himself) to "follow with example of an agrologist's public statement" that obviously was of concern. The actual public statement was not included with the speech given on April 15th but was included in the rough notes of the speech dated March 22 which read as follows:
"Yet a member of the B.C.I.A. - a P.Ag - is quoted in the press in response to a local politician who asked him a question something like this in regard to an ALR exclusion application:
Local politician: What about the international, national and local concerns regarding land for future food production?
BOA member P.Ag: We should firstly be concerned with places for people to live and secondly worry about land for food production.
This is our profession - the image is yours to make.
I don't mean that we should go overboard, but if we are not willing to defend preservation of agricultural land - who is?"

File consists of notes for an untitled speech about "Experiences at the B.C. Land Commission" by Gary Runka at a Habitat 1976 panel at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Vancouver between May 31-June 11,1976.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"GGR gave this speech as part of a panel at Habitat 1976.

The speech outlines the scope of the legislation, background of a provincial zoning technique (based on technical information), the establishment of the ALR plans in each of 28 regional districts and commentary on some of the projects the Commission is involved with.

Providing context to the land-use planning environment that the B.C. farmland preservation program and ALR were thrust into in the mid-1970s, GGR remarks that:
"In many cases we have local governments making their first real strong attempt at land use planning. Backed by the strength of the Land Commission Act it is seen as a real change to control urban sprawl and linear development that is detrimental from other planning points of view, as well as from the agricultural land point of view."

The fact that GGR was asked to be part of the panel at the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements speaks to the regard given the B.C. farmland preservation program."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Vegetable Situation in BC".

File consists of an untitled speech to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce regarding land use planning and its impact on the food producer.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"These 3 pages of notes prepared for a speech given to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce are packed with several important themes and is a more refined version of [2020.4.2.1.24].

Some of the important themes mentioned include:

1. Preserving the option of agriculture in BC will not be accomplished by preserving agricultural land alone;
2. Prior to the ALR we were losing our best farmland first;
3. BC is attempting to become more self-sufficient in food production;
4. BC agriculture is diverse but lacks large volumes of any single commodity;
5. Rural areas must be carefully planned to protect food production and not thought of as a storehouse of future urban development;
6. With land use planning it is often difficult to see benefits in the short term but losses for a few people should amount to long term gains for many; and
7. Several examples are provided of initiatives aimed at protecting rural areas, habitat etc.

The speech notes include the first mention of the work of the Ministry of Agriculture's Greenzone Committee and its efforts to find ways of reducing land use conflicts.

Many of these themes have been considered in previous speeches but are consolidated here and the paper ends with a need for food producers to get involved in land use planning process."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Private Land Needs and the BC Agricultural Land Commission Experience" for the Perspectives on Natural Resources Symposium II at Sir Sanford Fleming College in Lindsay, Ontario.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This represents a major, out of province speech. It covers some familiar historic themes concerning the implementation of the BC farmland preservation program but also provides other interesting insights. It includes an informative summary of the land scarcity problem particular to BC.

With the designation of the ALR complete, the much more difficult task is: "... to make the right land-use decisions within the agricultural zone and encourage good land use planning adjacent to it in order to accomplish the stated objectives." This statement clearly establishes the perspective that the ALC is not just focused on land within the ALR but believes its protection mandate extends beyond the bounds of the Reserve.

GGR states that for competing uses there are normally non-agricultural alternatives but: "...the ability and willingness to go in these other directions necessitates a radical change in thinking on the part of governments, private industry, real estate interests, and the general public." Fourteen competing land uses are noted.

It is noted that the ALC Act "...has provided impetus for more formal planning at the local and regional levels..." - a fact all too often missed.

GGR reviews the types of plan policies that will assist the preservation of farmland and support the continued farming of agricultural land.

A number of specific initiatives are noted and mention is made of the urban / rural fringe problems and the work of the Ministry of Agriculture Green Zone Committee. Mention is made of the challenges associated with dealing with conflicts with other provincial and federal agencies.

The paper is summarized with three general approaches to looking at land needs, land uses and resource planning drawn from GGR's personal experience:

1. Canada can't afford many more mistakes in the area of land resource allocation and making land-use decisions on the basis of the land's inherent natural characteristics is more reliable and sensible than based on the protection of property values and simply accommodating growth pressures;
2. The ALC has learned that every move in rural planning and every decision in resource management has impact upon agriculture; and
3. Agricultural land preservation represents a provincial priority and it has identified a direction around which all others can plan.

GGR closes - "In the final analysis, it is the process of planning that is important, the product itself is never quite finalized."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "The BC Agricultural Land Preservation Experience" to the Canadian Agricultural Extension Council Conference in Kelowna.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech represents a major paper that reiterates historical themes concerning the legislative initiative, B.C's very limited area available for agricultural production and the designation of the ALR plans.

GGR emphasizes that the main criteria when considering applications under the ALC Act is the soil/climate capability for agriculture. He mentions that the actual designation of the ALR and its subsequent refinement was fairly straight-forward but: "Much more difficult is the task that we are now facing, to make the right land-use decisions within the agricultural zone and encourage good land-use planning adjacent to it in order to accomplish the stated objectives."

GGR remarks that the ALC Act is based on the assumption that there are alternatives to farmland for urban uses and he personally agrees that alternatives do exist in almost all cases but he cautions: "But, the ability and willingness to go in these other directions necessitates a radical change in thinking on the part of governments, private industry, real estate interests, and the general public. It also demands an acceptance of the fact that agricultural land preservation is in British Columbia to stay and it assumes a commitment to preserve the agricultural industry as being in our own long term best interests. Some vibrations tell me we still have not quite made the grade in this area." These words were spoken by the Chair of the ALC 36 years ago and could be as appropriately be spoken by any of the subsequent ALC's Chairs to this day.

Competing land uses are listed and guidelines on expected policy content in Official Settlement Plans developed under the Municipal Act aimed at the protection of agricultural land and agriculture are noted.

Three examples are provided of studies to explore alternate areas of growth along with work on dealing with impact issues (edge/interface planning). GGR emphasizes the challenge of dealing with other governmental agencies and ends by outlining 3 general approaches to look at land needs, land uses and resource planning:

1. Make land use decision based on the inherent natural characteristics rather than protecting land values or simply accommodating growth;
2. The Fall 1977 amendments to the Act allowing greater Cabinet involvement will test the program but also emphasizes the importance of shared decision making; and
3. The ALC Act has defined a land use priority and a direction around which all others can plan and there is a need for a national land use policy that GGR supports."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Experience: Establishing Priorities for the Use of Rural Land Resources" for the Canadian Institute of Planners Annual Conference in Kitchener, Waterloo.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is a second speech GGR gave at the 1980 CIP Conference.

The 'rural' stage is set by stating that BC is 94% crown land of which 53% is unreserved crown land - so lots of rural land to plan for.

The paper largely outlines 8 examples of rural land use priorities in BC including:

1. Integrating rural land use policy under the Environment and Land Use Act
2. Agricultural Land Commission Act protecting farmland
3. Forest and Range Act
4. Municipal and Regional government community, settlement and regional plans - largely on non-crown land
5. The Federal government's amended Fisheries Act
6. Special Statutes Planning - The Islands Trust Act
7. Crown land Planning Strategies
8. Environment Planning via an Environment Act, Water Basin Plan and Wildlife along with complimentary legislation.

The paper helps to place the farmland preservation in the context with other land use planning efforts in British Columbia."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Who Gets to Use the Land and Water? - the Urban and Agricultural Land Needs of the Okanagan Valley" for the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, UBC and Okanagan College.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Although the ALR and ALC Act are not mentioned directly, the paper is focused on agriculture and rural planning.

When speaking of the competition for land and the pressure agricultural land is under, an interesting statement is included referring to the fact that "the fluctuation" in Washington State's apple crop is greater than the entire annual Okanagan production.

The paper reviews pressures on agriculture and urban land uses. Under "Satisfying the Needs (Options and Interrelationships)" seven points are made including "Understanding the land is the most important prerequisite to its wise and proper use," and that Integrated Natural Resource Management and Land Use Planning must be closely tied.

The paper ends with a point of optimism - "I see that potential to increase our understanding of the natural processes and to explore the questions of who gets to use the land and water from a view point somewhere in the orchard or countryside rather than from Main Street. That's a beginning."