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Provincial Agricultural Land Commission
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Operations & Governance

  • The Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is an autonomous provincial agency, independent  of the provincial government, that is responsible for administering the ALC Act

    • Governance Structure

    The work of the ALC is carried out by up to 19 Commission members appointed from six administrative regions of the province who are collectively the board of directors of the ALC. The Chair of the Commission is appointed by Order in Council of Cabinet and all other members of the Commission are appointed by Ministerial Order. Candidates for the appointment are chosen based on their knowledge in matters related to agriculture, land use planning, local government and first nations government as set out in section 5(1) of the ALC Act.

    Appointments to the ALC are managed by the Crown, Agencies and Board Resourcing Office (CABRO). For more information on CABRO and the appointment process, please visit the CABRO website here.

    Full Commission

    The Full Commission consisting of all members of the board, meet twice a year to carry out a variety of duties, including: developing policies governing ALC operations and the interpretation of legislation, passing resolutions and bylaws regarding the conduct of its affairs, recommending legislative and regulatory changes to government, determining ALR boundaries, approving strategic and business planning initiatives, and considering issues of provincial importance.

    Executive Committee

    The Executive Committee, consisting of the Chair and Vice Chairs appointed by the Chair. are responsible for making determinations on reconsiderations pursuant to section 33.1 of the ALC Act and exercising any other functions delegated by the Commission. The Executive Committee meetings are scheduled as needed.

    Panels for Decisions-making on Applications

    The Commission on average adjudicates (decides) more than 400 applications each year

    The Chair of the Commission has the authority to establish panels of 2 or more members to decide on applications to the ALC based on administrative region, type of application, panel member expertise or any other criteria established by the Chair, as provided for in s. 11 of the ALCA.

    The Chair of the Commission has appointed 6 decision-making panels, one for each of the six administrative regions in the province, that are responsible for deciding applications received in those regions for subdivision, non-farm use, exclusion, inclusion, non-adhering residential use and soil and fill use. At the discretion of the chair, a member of one panel may also serve on more than one panel, and or the Chair may also serve on a panel, if quorum or member expertise warrants. More information on current panel appointments can be found in the Chair Directive – Establishment of Panels for the Purposes of Determining Applications (PDF, 152 KB).

    Panel workload is managed by the ALC Chair and referred to the panels at the Chair’s discretion. Commission panels are appointed to decide applications, carry out site visits, meet with local governments and other stakeholders to discuss land use planning matters, ALC policy and emerging issues. The work of the panels is conducted in person and remotely, either online or video/teleconference. Please note, applications that require site visits will be scheduled while taking into consideration seasonal weather conditions to ensure safe access to the land under application.

    Governance and Operational Policy

    The Agricultural Land Commission establishes policies that guide the governance and operation of the Commission.

    For more information on the Commission policies please visit the ALC Policies and Bulletins page.

    Public Interest Disclosure Reports

    Section 38 of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) requires chief executives to report annually on the disclosures received relating to their organization.