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Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries.

In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction.

Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue.

Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said Paton. "Producers face thousands of dollars in daily feed costs just to keep their livestock alive. This government is asking farmers to pay for a problem it has refused to solve in over seven years."

"The NDP continue to rely on short-term restrictions instead of investing in the long-term infrastructure and water storage our communities need," said Donegal Wilson, Shadow Minister for Water, Land, Fisheries, and Wildlife Management. “We should be capturing more water during the winter, supporting responsible water storage, and removing unnecessary barriers that make it harder for landowners and local governments to build resilience.”

“Hundreds of millions of dollars in crops and orchards are at risk, along with the family businesses and jobs that come with them,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Shadow Minister for Economic Development. “This is about food security and the survival of one of the Okanagan's defining industries. Fruit trees are multi-decade investments. If they die, orchardists can lose decades of work they can never rebuild. We’ve been getting panicked calls from farmers for nine weeks now. They need immediate action, not more delays and excuses.”

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