We received a complaint from Marlene and Mark about the Ministry of Forests (the ministry) failing to review applications to assign land tenures to a new operator. Marlene and Mark explained that they had tenures where they operated an aquaculture business that they wished to sell. They had applied to the ministry to assign their tenures to a new operator but three years later, they reported that their tenures had expired and that they had to reapply to the ministry to have them renewed.

Concerned about the ministry’s delay in reviewing their tenure applications and the hardship that Marlene and Mark were experiencing, they reached out to our office for assistance.

The focus of our investigation was on whether the ministry’s review of applications for tenure assignment and renewal were unreasonably delayed. In response, the ministry acknowledged the delays Marlene and Mark had experienced and explained why there were long waits for aquaculture tenure decisions. The ministry advised us that it did not have formal service standards for responding to applications, but was guided by the Crown Land Allocation Principles, its mandate and ministry service plans. The ministry reported that it had hired additional staff to remedy the issue and further explained the steps it was taking to improve the process for applicants who wished to sell their aquaculture businesses.

While we appreciated the steps that the ministry was taking to resolve the issue, the multi-year delay that Marlene and Mark experienced and its impact on their ability to transfer ownership of their business appeared unreasonable. We proposed the ministry create service standards for all aquaculture applications with corresponding timelines, provide ongoing and regular updates to applicants, and develop a plan to meet its service standards.

The ministry agreed to the proposed resolution, and subsequently provided our office with a draft copy of the BC Aquaculture Service Standards and its implementation plan.

As a result of our investigation, the ministry processed Marlene and Mark’s applications and they were able to successfully transfer ownership of their tenures.