A monk surveys the construction site at the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society in Heatherdale, P.E.I. on April 20, 2023.DARREN CALABRESE/The Globe and Mail
Prince Edward Island is investigating whether a Taiwan-based Buddhist organization is exceeding provincial limits on foreign ownership of property, as part of a broader review of legislation intended to protect farmland.
The announcement Wednesday by Steven Myers, the Minister of Housing, Land and Communities, was welcomed by the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Lands, which says the probe is years overdue.
It comes after a 2023 investigation by The Globe and Mail into an organization called Bliss and Wisdom. The Globe’s reporting showed that companies and individuals affiliated with the group bought thousands of acres in the province’s eastern region that were then used for a network of religious schools, farming schemes and development projects. The province’s Lands Protection Act is supposed to limit ownership to 1,000 acres per person, 3,000 per corporation and five acres per non-resident.
“Islanders have valid concerns about who owns land and how it is being used, especially since we are a small province with limited land. But it’s important too that these discussions are based on evidence, not assumptions,” Mr. Myers said in a statement.
Mr. Myers is using his power as minister to direct the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) to investigate land holdings both directly and indirectly linked to two of Bliss and Wisdom’s largest schools – the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute Inc. and the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS).
Dan Chang, a senior monk for GEBIS, told The Globe in an e-mail that his institution welcomes “a fair and transparent investigation,” and expressed hope that it will put a stop to “false claims” it controls far more land than is allowed under provincial law. Reached by e-mail, senior nuns at Great Wisdom said they also supported a new probe that could bring “hard facts” to the issue rather than speculation.
The Globe’s reporting illustrated how Bliss and Wisdom used a complex web of corporate entities, run by a small group of senior members, to build a new global headquarters on the island. Residents complain that many of its land holdings are registered to the group’s nuns and monks, allowing it to get around restrictions on property.
The organization told The Globe its land acquisitions are made in consultation with its spiritual leader, a Chinese-Canadian woman known to adherents as Master Zhen-Ru. Landowners surrounding the Bliss and Wisdom schools said that when the group first arrived in PEI in 2008, it was common for monks to offer to buy properties with suitcases full of cash.
“It’s like the Wild West out here,” said Joan Diamond, a spokesperson for the Coalition for the Protection of PEI Lands, which has called for a public inquiry. “But we have guarded optimism that this is a step in the right direction.”
She said the coalition’s concerns extend beyond the Buddhist organization’s activities. For instance, she pointed to the attempted 2019 purchase of farmland in the Summerside area by three corporations, all of which listed one or more of the same members of the Irving family as shareholders and directors. That purchase was stopped by the province before it could proceed.
Islanders told The Globe that Bliss and Wisdom was conducting what they saw as a highly co-ordinated land grab, which has inflated real estate prices in their rural communities at a time when a housing crisis is making it hard for families to find homes. They contend that many of the properties linked to the group are left vacant for much of the year.
The minister said he wants to ensure transparency around farmland ownership in PEI, and improve oversight of non-resident land ownership. He pledged that the new IRAC report will be made public – addressing an issue that has dogged previous probes by the provincial commission.
“Our land must be managed in ways that best serve the long-term interests of the Island, balancing population growth, the protection of prime agricultural land, and climate change adaptation. We are taking decisive action on land-use and ownership to ensure our land is preserved for current and future generations of Islanders,” Mr. Myers said.
He said amendments to the Lands Protection Act are also planned for the spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly to better improve oversight of land holdings for non-residents.
“Whether it’s about development, planning, agriculture, or ownership, how we use our land is an important topic that Islanders want to discuss and be a part of,” the minister said.