Green Party bill to make land investigations public passes in P.E.I. Legislature

From this point on, all reports and investigations into P.E.I. land holdings will be made public.

That's after a private member's bill brought forward by Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane passed second reading unanimously in the P.E.I. Legislature on Wednesday.

The amendment to the province's Lands Protection Act will make all documents and reports related to Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) land investigations available to the public, including those that are currently underway.

MacFarlane said the aim is to rebuild trust in the commission.

"It’s time to remove the shroud of secrecy around IRAC... that this government and the ones before it have not only allowed to happen, but have encouraged the processes to devolve to the extent that they have," MacFarlane said.

The amendment comes after MLAs discovered a long sought-after report from IRAC outlining the details of a 2018 investigation into the land holdings of Buddhist groups in eastern P.E.I. doesn’t actually exist.

MacFarlane said public feedback on the bill has been positive and that the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS), one of the groups currently under investigation, is also in support of the amendment.

In an email sent to MacFarlane that he tabled in the legislature, a spokesperson for GEBIS said the group "supports all efforts that provide clarity through new legislation and the release of any materials related to investigations, as these measures can help strengthen trust among Islanders."

P.E.I.'s privacy commissioner is raising some concerns about the amendment.

During debate, MacFarlane discussed a letter from Denise Doiron, which said the right to know the details of an investigation needs to be balanced with the right to privacy.

The commissioner raised concerns around supporting documents, which could contain information such as bank account numbers, a person’s political or religious beliefs or the identity of a confidential informant.

Minister of Housing, Land and Communities Cory Deagle said he supports the bill as it is, but understands there could be some concerns later on.

"Will we have to revisit this later on after we see how it works and plays out in real life," Deagle said. "But overall, I think it's a good thing, and if it can help bring some level of trust back to IRAC, then I think that's something that we can support."

Boyd Allen with the Coalition for the Protection of P.E.I. Lands was in the legislative assembly to witness the debate.