Alternative Dispute Resolution

While any person aggrieved by a farm practice – someone bothered by dust, noise, odour or other disturbance – can file a complaint with BCFIRB under the Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act, BCFIRB encourages you to try to resolve your disagreement informally with your neighbour before filing.

Cooperatively resolving a dispute with your neighbour can be challenging, but in the long run often leads to better relationships and better results. 

• What is your concern with respect to the farm practice (is it disturbance, health, environment or something else)?
• Have you spoken with your neighbour about your concern?
• What have you and your neighbour done together to try to resolve the concern?
• Have you considered bringing in a neutral party to assist with your discussions?
• Have you contacted the local industry association/commodity board?  For example, the B.C. Blueberry Council employs a Liaison Officer to help resolve disputes.
• Have you contacted your local Ministry of Agriculture office and/or local government? Experienced staff can often lend their expertise to help resolve the concern in a timely fashion.
• Review summaries of previous BCFIRB decisions related to specific types of complaints.
• If your attempts to resolve your dispute are unsuccessful, you can file a formal complaint with BCFIRB regarding dust, odour, noise or other disturbance.