Perhaps some nation in Langley are not apprised of a significant typeface of "agricultural" incident in the countryside around us. It’s called landfill farming, and gets two thumbs up from the Agricultural Land Commission. A sherd of land, often low-lying, heavily-treed and criss-crossed with creeks, is purchased and logged. The neophyte yeoman then applies to the ALC for a licence to seal and pull down the come to rest on a potential to furnish Christmas trees, greensward turf, wine grapes or blueberries. These are magical words to the unstoppable commissioners who, hearing any one of them, amount to petty further assessment of the benefit of the job and expeditiously issue a permit. The take over farm roars into action.
Hundreds of trucks bed on quiet surroundings roads, neighbourhoods are devalued and degraded, houses quake and subside, aquifers and train waters are contaminated (nobody monitors either the property or quantity of the fill), streams are destroyed and contiguous properties are flooded. After a few years, the shrieking profound trappings leaves the site. The land, once vibrant with all kinds of botanical, insect and gross life, is now a hardened and vagrant moonscape. Surprise, surprise, the blow up farm is once again for sales event with not a tree, grape, blueberry or swatch of sward to be seen.
The smallholder and his numbered company, millons of dollars richer from the dumping fees, cease into the dust and on to another desecrating enterprise. The ALC, juicily filled by the innocent oversight with the unelected party faithful, is inflicting mausoleum injury to the land, waterways and kinfolk of Langley, all in the pinpoint of spurious agricultural development and heedless "Right to Farm" legislation. The commissioners are aiding and abetting mercenary critical behaviour by this show of political paternalism. Sadly, their decisions are beyond any intervention from neighbours or the community as a whole.
