In British Columbia, only 5 percent of our landmass is farmable and 1 percent is of high quality. We should be particularly outraged, therefore, when we are asked by our elected officials to allow this small portion of land – capable of growing our food and providing for our families – to be converted into estate properties boasting nearly 11,000 square foot mega-mansions. Yet that is precisely what seven, Richmond Councillors want to do. Listen up, folks -- “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” Some 45 years ago, the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was created to protect farmland from development. Today, a loophole in the ALR is being exploited to allow extravagant estates to be built by foreign speculators who want to avoid the 15 percent residential tax. To add insult to injury, the activities taking place in these chichi mansions include gambling, money laundering, loan sharking, drug trafficking, prostitution, birthing hostels and illegal hotels. Our local news has done a respectable job of trying to shed light on these issues. Meanwhile, our elected officials are pushing not to stop this epidemic, but to pass new laws to permit it to become even more problematic. Right now, provincial guidelines stipulate a maximum home size of 500m2 (5,382 sqft) on these lands; however, Richmond City Council has passed a bylaw increasing the maximum to 1,000m2 (10,764 sqft). Just in case you thought your elected officials were working for you, here is a wakeup call. City council may revisit their decision in mid-November. We need our city council to make the right decision; however, we are faced with an uncomfortable reality – most of our councillors receive huge donations to their re-election campaigns from property developers, real estate companies, and nefarious landowners seeking to cash-in on the speculative, red-hot, real estate market. It is doubtful that they will bite the hand that feeds them politically, even if it means we cannot feed our children literally. Some have even had the audacity to suggest that rich folks can buy the land and lease it out to tenant farmers, a system more commonly referred to as feudalism. We must stand together and demand that our local politicians make decisions based on the common good and not political favours. If you want to help us preserve the ALR and stop the abuse of power (before Richmond becomes the new “Downton Abbey”), then please share this petition with family, friends, colleagues, and neighbours. Thank You! ~ Jack Trovato