Media Release – November 23, 2023
The Coalition for the Protection of PEI Lands, on behalf of thousands of concerned Islanders renews its request for a public inquiry into land transactions in PEI. “For fifty years land commissions have warned successive governments that weakly regulated land acquisitions by non-residents and corporations would create a land crisis on P.E.I.. Sadly, these warnings were not heeded. A public inquiry will reveal how this present crisis has occurred. Only then will we know what steps we need to take to stop it. Islanders must recognize that the Government will not solve this problem without public pressure.. Fifty years of inaction is all the proof we need.” said coalition spokesperson Boyd Allen.
Despite the provisions of the Lands Protection Act to protect the land, PEI lost an alarming 39 acres of farmland per day from 2016-2021. A whopping four fifths of our land development is happening with no guidance or governance because it is happening outside municipalities.
The King government has assured us that an island-wide land use plan is coming, but will likely be three years before it comes into effect. Meanwhile we see continued abuses of the land and of the Lands Protection Act, while government officials either look the other way or seem to support developers in finding loopholes. The results have been disastrous: blocked beaches, unregulated urban sprawl, and land acquisitions as investments by wealthy individuals and corporations. These situations contribute to skyrocketing costs that make it impossible for most young farmers and many others to purchase land.
Concerned Islanders have asked us to increase awareness about this urgent situation. In answer, we have hosted forums, taken out full page ads, run radio campaigns and initiated petitions. We hosted a well-attended rally in June 2023 where Premier King assured us he would “Talk with us” by responding to our many unanswered calls and emails to meet with him. This has not happened. On November 4, 2023 we again emailed the Premier and Minister Lantz requesting a meeting to discuss our request. Only Minister Lantz’ administrative assistant responded, assuring us that they would get back to us. That has not happened either.
The ongoing lack of response and transparency is concerning because it acts to support abuse of the Lands Protection Act. Islanders need to know that their precious land is quietly slipping away. On January 27th we will honor our ongoing commitment to inform the public by hosting a forum, “ Missing in Action – How government inaction affects PEI land development. More details to come at a later date.
It is time for a full, island-wide public inquiry. We ask Islanders to support us in this request by sending an email (please cc coalitionforpeilands@gmail.com) and/or making a phone call to your MLA and the Premier telling them that you agree. We will never be able to reclaim this once fertile land back to farmland, but a full public inquiry will shed light on exactly how this is continuing to happen. It may also serve to slow the tide of the wealthy and powerful taking over our province.
For further information contact Boyd Allen, (902) 569-4449, email: pownalbay@gmail.com