Farm Practices Complaints Administration
Fiscal Period Ending March 31, 2010
Seventy-eight formal complaints have been received in the BC Farm Industry Review Board's (BCFIRB) since 1997. The majority of complaints are filed on behalf of more than one person, with over 600 different neighbours represented in the complaints filed to date. These numbers can be attributed to increasing urban encroachment into farming areas; however, the changing nature of farming is also a factor. The increased size of farms, new types of farming (such as large-scale greenhouses and fish farms) and the diversification of farm operations to include on-farm processing and direct marketing can have a greater and broader impact on their neighbourhoods.
Over 50 informal complaints were received and twelve formal complaints were filed in the year 09/10. With carryovers, a total of eighteen complaints were administered. Two were heard and decided, three were resolved through mediation and six were withdrawn.
The settlement process continues to be the most effective method of resolving these disputes between neighbours and is discussed by BCFIRB throughout the process. However, the increasing sensitivity, volatility and complexity of these interest-based disputes, along with their potential broader impact on both the farming and non-farming communities, raise issues that are sometimes best heard and decided by a panel of BCFIRB.
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Summary of Complaints Administered by Fiscal Year |
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Complaints by Fiscal Year |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
2008/09 |
2009/10 |
|
Carried over from previous fiscal year |
9 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
|
Filed |
3 |
6 |
8 |
12 |
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Total Administered in fiscal year |
12 |
10 |
10 |
18 |
|
Withdrawn |
3 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
|
Resolved by settlement/mediation |
1 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
|
Heard/Decided |
4 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Total Complaints disposed |
8 |
7 |
4 |
11 |
|
Other - adjourned for FPPA* Sec 11 (2) review |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Active Complaints carried forward |
4 |
2 |
6 |
7 |
* Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act
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Summary by issue and location of 12 complaints filed this year |
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Odour - Dairy Farm |
1 |
Armstrong |
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Manure Management/Run off-Cattle |
3 |
Armstrong, Kelowna, Metchosin |
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Manure Management/Dairy Farm |
1 | Langley |
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Noise - Vineyard, Blueberry Farms, Greenhouse, Poultry |
5 | Surrey, Kelowna, Langley, Duncan |
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Dust/Air Quality - Dairy Farms |
1 | Black Creek |
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Mortalities - Chicken Farm |
1 | Rosedal |
Updated April 2010
