Green MLA Matt Macfarlane introducing bill to amend the FOIPP Act
The Guardian (Charlottetown)30 Oct 2024VIVIAN ULINWA THE GUARDIAN vivian.ulinwa@saltwire. com @vivian_ulinwa
Green MLA Matt Macfarlane is sponsoring a bill to amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which would allow the public to access recommendations made by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) regarding land purchases. STU NEATBY
The Green caucus is introducing proposed legislation it says is meant to remove secrecy surrounding land transactions in P.EI.
MLA Matt Macfarlane is sponsoring the bill, which would amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to allow the public to access recommendations made by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) regarding land purchases.
Currently, when IRAC receives an application for land purchases above a certain threshold, whether from non-residents or local buyers, it reviews the application and submits a recommendation to the executive council, the final decisionmaking body.
However, these recommendations are not made public, leaving Islanders without any insight into whether executive council is following IRAC’S recommendations.
Macfarlane said, “It’s important that we know whether cabinet is following (IRAC’S) recommendations or not, because if they’re not, then IRAC’S role is largely neutered by cabinet’s overpowering decision making.
“And of course, cabinets decision making is in secret, so we never know.”
FAIR PROCESS
Macfarlane said that the Lands Protection Act is meant to regulate and control land transactions in P.E.I., and it requires a fair, non-political body to manage that process, which is the role of IRAC. He calls the lack of public documentation between IRAC and the executive council “problematic.”
“Because that’s what the lands Protection Act is designed to do. To have a process in place that’s fair and equitable, and the lack of transparency means that we can never be sure the fairness is being applied, or if there’s political persuasion at the level of executive council when it comes to determining land transactions.”
Boyd Allen is a member of the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands. The organization has been advocating for transparency and accountability concerning lands in P.E.I.
Allen describes the bill as a good idea and a step in demanding transparency.
“It’s encouraging, because it’s a process that needs to be modernized. It’s a process that needs to be more transparent. And this is one means to get there,” he said.
“The numbers are staggering, the number of land transactions that are brought before the executive council
every month, and it’s a closed door. We don’t know how or why these decisions are being made.”
POINT DEROCHE
Allen referred to a piece of land in Point Deroche, P.E.I., which he said exemplifies why the process should be open.
The owner of that property remodelled a home close to the shoreline, outside the provincial buffer zone, and also built a wall of armouring stone jutting out along the beach past the high water line.
The development caused controversy in the P.E.I. community, but the decisions surrounding its approval were not immediately made public.
“This is one transaction of many. The public deserve to know,” Allen said.
Macfarlane’s bill is set to be debated during the fall session of the legislature, which starts on Nov. 5.
“I do hope it goes through,” the MLA said. “It’s my hope that government recognizes that the current process is anything but transparent and it’s in fact, secretive and Islanders deserve to have openness and transparency when it comes to who’s buying land in Prince Edward Island and the reasons why land acquisitions are being approved.”