As Matt MacFarlane says, “the government read the room”. They recognized that Islanders are fed up with the secrecy and lies. So, your voice does make a difference!
P.E.I. land transparency bill passes
Green leader’s land transparency bill passes unanimously in P.E.I. legislature
(Charlottetown)14 Nov 2025STU NEATBY
PHOTOS: STU NEATBY
Green Leader Matt Macfarlane says he was “pleasantly surprised” to see a unanimous vote on a bill he introduced that would ensure the results of land investigations be made public.
The Progressive Conservative government has supported a bill, introduced by Green Leader Matt Macfarlane, which would require land-related investigations be made public – regardless of who ordered them.
A private member’s bill introduced by Macfarlane passed second reading in the P.E.I. legislature on Wednesday with unanimous support of all members. The bill would require the province’s minister of land make public any reports of land investigations carried out by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.
The bill would also require IRAC to provide the minister with final reports of all land investigations, including those undertaken independently by the commission. Currently, IRAC is only required to provide the minister with investigation reports ordered by him.
Macfarlane admitted to being “pleasantly surprised” by the passage of his bill.
“I think government knows the public’s perception right now with respect to IRAC and land investigations is – I’m going to say – at an all-time low,” said Macfarlane in an interview.
“So government read the room, realized this was a piece of legislation that was important right now and supported it.”
LAND HOLDINGS LIMITS
P.E.I.’S Lands Protection Act limits the landholdings of corporations to 3,000 acres and individuals to 1,000 acres. IRAC is responsible for administering the act and investigating alleged infractions.
The bill’s passage comes as IRAC is in the midst of a new investigation into the land holdings of two Buddhist organizations – the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) and the Great Buddhist Wisdom Institute (GWBI).
GEBIS has come out in support of Macfarlane’s bill. The group says it will provide needed transparency.
The commission began an investigation of the same organizations in 2018, but the results of this investigation were never been made public. The commission says the investigation was never completed, although a consultant hired by IRAC did complete two reports on the subject.
SHORT DEBATE
Debate on Macfarlane’s bill lasted just over 10 minutes.
Land and Communities Minister Cory Deagle has committed to making the results of the current IRAC investigation into Buddhist landholdings public. He reiterated this commitment in the legislature.
“This legislation would make it legislation, so I won’t have that choice. Which is a good thing. We want transparency in all aspects,” Deagle said.
Deagle added that his department had some concerns about Macfarlane’s bill but said its main principles were “a good thing.”
“If it can help bring some level of trust back to IRAC, then I think that’s something that we can support,” Deagle said.
REMOVE IRAC: COALITION
Boyd Allen, a member of the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Land, was in the gallery when the bill was passed.
Allen said he felt the passage of the bill was “an important first step” that would allow some clarity into land concerns.
“My next step would be to divest the Lands Protection Act from IRAC,” Allen said.
Allen said he believes there must be an Island-wide discussion about how this might happen but said land decisions should be made more transparent.
He referred to a “stand-alone tribunal,” or arms length agency, that could take over the role of administering the Lands Protection Act.
HISTORIC CONCERNS
Allen said the terms of reference of IRAC’S current investigation into Buddhist groups in Kings County have not been made public. He also said it is not clear who is doing the investigation – be it an outside consultant or not.
Macfarlane said the issues that gave rise to his bill date back to historic concerns over consolidation of P.E.I.’S limited farmland, which led to the adoption of the Lands Protection Act. Macfarlane said corporations and international interests are currently buying up land in the province, which would not have been predicted in the 1980s when that act was put into place.
“The bottom line is, the Lands Protection Act is as important or more important now than it’s ever been before. We need to make sure it’s strong,” Macfarlane said.
