VICTORIA – Comox Valley MLA Don McRae showed he supports dismantling the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) by voting on Tuesday to prematurely cut off debate on Bill 24, say B.C.’s New Democrats.

“Don McRae made it clear with his actions that he does not support protections for farmland or food security in the Comox Valley,” said New Democrat agriculture critic Nicholas Simons. “By voting today to cut off the debate on the ALR, McRae showed that he’d rather push through legislation that threatens local agriculture than take time to consult with his constituents and actually hear what they have to say.”

Simons noted that McRae’s support of Bill 24 – which will remove protections from 90 per cent of ALR land – will threaten local farmland and long-term food security by opening up formerly protected land for development.

“The B.C. Liberal government is allowing the future of our province’s agriculture to be managed through political decisions. The final stage of debate was one of the last chances for Liberal MLAs to do the right thing and scrap the bill, but McRae’s vote today likely means we’ll be seeing the dismantling of the ALR in no time at all.”