B.C. Liberals pursuing plan to dismantle land commission, NDP claims NDP Leader Adrian Dix has accused the B.C. Liberal government of following a secret plan to dismantle the Agricultural Land Commission. At a press conference in Vancouver Wednesday, Mr. Dix released a copy of a letter from the office of Agriculture Minister Pat Pimm to the ALC, which directs the commission to halt its review of Agricultural Land Reserve boundaries. "It's a stop work order on the Agricultural Land Commission," said Mr. Dix. This is more evidence showing that the Liberal government has already started the groundwork to implement their proposal to shatter the ALR. He said the letter, taken in context with other information revealed over the past week by The Globe and Mail, shows that the Liberals are pursuing a policy of dismantling ALC and the ALR. This is government policy. This is the direction they are preceding and we as British Columbians have to fight back," he said. Mr. Dix said the ALR was established 40 years ago by an NDP government, but it has survived over the decades, under both Social Credit and Liberal administrations, because it plays a vital role in protecting farm land and enjoys widespread public support. The letter, from Derek Sturko, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, was sent to Richard Bullock, chair of the ALC, on Oct. 4. "Given the current core review process that is under way, I believe it would be prudent, during the period of the core review of the ALC and the ALR, to defer any ALC decisions that would fundamentally affect the ALR (for instance, inclusions or exclusions of major blocks of land)," wrote Mr. Sturko. The letter made specific reference to boundary reviews underway in the East Kootenay region, which is the riding held by Energy Minister Bill Bennett, who is conducting the government's core review. Mr. Dix said the core review is looking at a wide range of government operations, but he didn't think any other department had been ordered to stop work while that study is underway. Mr. Pimm has been in the news spotlight this week, following the leak of a cabinet document that showed he developed a proposal to strip the ALC of its powers, and to give the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission more authority over decisions about the use of farm land. Mr. Pimm was admonished in an ALC ruling this summer when the Commission rejected an application to remove farm land near Fort St. John in order to build a rodeo ground. That development, which Mr. Pimm supported, went ahead despite the ALC's ruling, The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. While the land removal application was under consideration Mr. Pimm's office contacted the ALC looking for information. Mr. Dix said Mr. Pimm should resign for attempting to politically influence the deliberations of the ALC, and for undermining the independence and authority of the Crown agency, which works at arm's length from government. Mr. Pimm and Premier Christy Clark have defended his actions, saying he did nothing wrong in advocating for a constituent.