B.C. land commission chair may have been fired without cause: watchdog

Share

The provincial government may have acted illegally when it fired Richard Bullock as chair of the Agricultural Land Commission, according to an association which acts as environmental law watchdog in British Columbia.

Mr. Bullock, an outspoken defender of B.C.'s agricultural land reserve, was removed from his post in May, just weeks before the government passed controversial changes to the Agricultural Land Commission Act. The government said at the time it was replacing him because new leadership was needed at the ALC, an independent body responsible for overseeing B.C.'s 4.7-million hectare agricultural land reserve.

But Anna Johnston, staff lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, said the government may not have acted appropriately in removing Mr. Bullock from his post.

"It is our understanding that Mr. Bullock's appointment as Chair was terminated without cause," Ms. Johnston states in a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick.

"If that is the case, then we respectfully submit that the government did not have the legal authority to pass the Termination Order and ask that he be reinstated for the duration of his term.

"Alternatively, if you believe us to be wrong in our facts or analysis, we respectfully ask that you clarify the basis of your authority to terminate Mr. Bullock's appointment," she writes.

In an e-mail, Mr. Letnick stated that he made a change in leadership, replacing Mr. Bullock with former Saanich mayor Frank Leonard, because the government was moving to "modernize" the ALC. One of Mr. Leonard's tasks is to find a new CEO for the ALC, because Mr. Bullock held both positions.

"To be clear, the former chair had six months remaining in his appointment, and to ensure continuity throughout the modernization phase, I made the decision to make the change," Mr. Letnick wrote. "I liken it a bit to a hockey team, where it's better to have the general manager hire his own coach rather than for me to go out and find the CEO and then put the general manager in place."

He said the appointment of Mr. Leonard "is not being reconsidered."

The letter from Ms. Johnston states that the Administrative Tribunals Act and the ALC Act are intended "to preserve the integrity of the ALC Chair and shield it from actual or threats of political interference by not permitting the government to terminate an appointment without cause."

It says that unless the government had cause to fire Mr. Bullock, it did not have a legal basis to issue the termination order.

"What we are really underscoring is that our main concern is about political interference with the integrity of the ALC," Ms. Johnston said in an interview Tuesday. "We are just really concerned the province is starting to politicize the ALR."

She said the government has not yet replied to the June 11 letter.

"I'll give them another week or two. In my experience, with this kind of letter to the government it can take a while for them to respond," she said. "I think a response that they did have cause is a more likely outcome than them conceding and reinstating him."

Ms. Johnston said West Coast Environmental Law has not decided if it will go to court to seek a judicial review of the termination.

Mr. Bullock couldn't be reached for comment.

Lana Popham, agriculture critic for the NDP, said the government dismissed Mr. Bullock because he was an outspoken advocate for protecting the ALR.

"He has been one of the strongest voices for agriculture that we have seen in that role," she said in an e-mail. "I think his commitment got in the way of the government's priorities."