Lana Popham calls for next B.C. NDP leader to defend Agricultural Land Reserve

by Matthew Burrows on December 21st, 2010 at 5:05 PM

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The B.C. NDP’s agriculture and lands critic believes the gap at the top of her party provides an opening for her to demand that the next party leader protect the Agricultural Land Reserve.

“My background is around farming and sustainability, so I want to see a leader who can present a credible argument for keeping that strong in British Columbia,” Lana Popham, the MLA for Saanich South since 2009, said in a sit-down interview in the Georgia Straight offices. “So I want someone who will stand up strongly for the ALR. As the NDP, we have that in our back pocket as something that we brought in, but we need to do a lot more work around making it news and making it important.”

Popham was one of the 13 MLAs who called for a leadership contest to replace NDP Leader Carole James, who announced her resignation earlier this month. However, Popham said she is “absolutely not interested” in running to replace James next spring when the party chooses its new leader.

Instead, Popham said she wants to offer her view that the next party leader “present a clear sustainability message”. Popham, a successful small-scale organic farmer, said this is “very related to agriculture and our domestic economy”.

“I think that food security has the potential to be a very big economic driver here in B.C., because we’re set up for it as far as our growing potential goes,” she added.

Ideally, Popham said, B.C.’s government should position itself to facilitate a new generation of farmers, including “more localized smaller-lot farms, sustainable farming”, which she claimed is “really what the consumer is interested in, and we have 4.5 million consumers in B.C.”

One factor driving how local farming will develop in B.C. is peak oil, Popham claimed. Peak oil refers to the point when world oil production peaks, after which either the price rises exponentially to reflect plummeting supplies, or the demand drops to keep prices stable.

“Do I think we’ve reached it? I think we need to live like we have, because even if we haven’t at this moment, I don’t believe that it’s very far off,” Popham said.

Lana Popham names three issues she thinks are important in B.C.

Comments

13 Comments

RonS

Dec 21, 2010 at 6:38pm

And of those 3 I believe water is the most important. The Southern US wants our water and I believe will do anything to get it. At one time they were suggesting we dam the columbia river and flood the Rocky Mountain Trench and pipe the water to Texas and other southern states. We have to ensure our water is protected at all cost.

tim.

Dec 21, 2010 at 7:20pm

awesome work! thanks lana for your continued determination and strong will.

Ken Lawson

Dec 21, 2010 at 8:43pm

Who is this woman (never heard of her until now) yes defend land reserve but not in the middle of Metro Vancouver, I see all the wing nuts and tree huggers are coming out now, must be school break

whatAjoke

Dec 21, 2010 at 8:55pm

Popham goes the weasel....

Strong New Democrat

Dec 22, 2010 at 8:28am

Thanks for the laugh "whatAjoke"!

This woman needs to get back into Caucus, learn to work with everyone and stop being such a shit disturber. If she doesn't want to be an NDP MLA maybe she should check out the idea of being an Independant. Or better still maybe she should get together with the rest of the party wreckers and figure out how to HEAL the wounds they inflicted! How about figureing out a strategy for that! And please think it all of the way through this time!

In my books, popham has gone from a "hope for the future person" to a..... turncoat, party terrorist!

Ken Lawson

Dec 22, 2010 at 11:28am

There is a reason the NDP and their Vision Vancouver municipal government will not be re-elected because of Wing Nuts like her.

The party of wing nuts.

Will Cardinal

Dec 22, 2010 at 12:11pm

Unless there's another Glen hiding somewhere, who doesn't need a deck or patio, who would want a job where mutineers lurk, waiting to push you under a bus full of liberals on their way to 'serve' another corrupt term of privatizing, large transfer payments, medical reforms and a deepening deficit ?

Steve Y

Dec 22, 2010 at 7:56pm

She's pretty cute but I believe there is a huge disconnect between her and the average BC voter. Think of where the average BC voter ranks the most important issues for them. Where do you think the ALR, climate change and water lie? A thousand, thousand one and thousand two? How about jobs? Money? Education for their kids? Obviously the NDP doesn't give a damn about that. They are more interested in farmer's markets and other ridiculous non-issues. I'd like the NDP to give the liberals at least a run for their money. Sheesh.

seth

Dec 23, 2010 at 8:36am

Actually the Strong New Democrat dude is a shill for the Liberals. So far his sexist rhetoric has driven women voters in droves to the BCLiberal party.

SND and others of his has been ilk like David Shreck, with their misogynist rants against the modern professional women, patriots and models for an up and coming generation, who stood up against an uneducated last generation mom who always did what her man - Big Moe - told her, sickens most women.
seth