Lantz delivers response to land inquiry request: No
Minister says he sees no sign of violations in land transactions in province
On April 25, 2023, the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Lands sent Premier Dennis King a letter requesting him to immediately initiate the procedures to establish a comprehensive Island-wide public inquiry into all PEI land transactions, especially in the past 10 years. The Island government can call for such an inquiry under the Public Inquiry Act.
A motion asking for the Coalition to make such a request was passed by a large number of Islanders attending a Coalition land information session in Kings County in early 2023. It was one of a series of meetings concerning who is gaining increasing control over our primary resource, the land.
In growing numbers, Islanders are asking that it be brought to light how local, national, and international corporations, and their beneficial owners and affiliates are threatening PEI’s capacity to safeguard its lands for current and future generations. Silence was, and is, Premier King’s response to the request.
Although persistent, it took the Coalition until January 18, 2024 to be granted a meeting to address a public land inquiry call. The meeting was not with Premier King, but rather with the 2023 spring-elected Rob Lantz, Minister of Housing, Land and Communities. The answer to the call for a public land inquiry delivered by Minister Lantz was “No” because he sees no sign of violations in land transactions in the province. If the Government’s Minister of Land can’t see what many Islanders are seeing, there is all the more reason for the need of a public land inquiry. So, Islanders, this is your answer from your government on an issue that is reaching the crisis point.
Does the scenario sound familiar? Can we compare it to the health care situation that was permitted to reach its current crisis point? For those Islanders who may think the ownership of our land doesn’t directly impact them, perhaps you should take a closer look and wonder about affordable and accessible housing now and in the future, affordable and protected farmland accessible to young Island farmers, an accessible and sustainable food supply, access to Island beaches, and so much more. Only by safeguarding our lands do we safeguard our joint futures, and those of Island generations yet to come.
No Minister Lantz, and Premier King, your answer is unacceptable.
— Douglas Campbell, a dairy farmer in Southwest Lot 16, is District Director of the National Farmers Union (NFU) and represents the NFU in the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Lands