New candidate will run for Pitt Meadows city council

Onetime farm owner and agriculture executive Mike Manion has announced his intention to run for a seat on Pitt Meadows city council in the Oct. 15 municipal election.

Manion will focus his campaign on food security, and ending the loss of farmland in Pitt Meadows. He has also taken an interest in environmental security – prioritizing dike and pump infrastructure to meet the increased demands, after the flooding on farmland on Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford during November of last year.

Manion said the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered weaknesses in food security, while recent weather events revealed failures in infrastructure.

“Food shortages due to decreased production as a result of recent environmental catastrophe and limited imports, have dealt us a wake-up call,” Manion said.

READ ALSO: Videos show force of floodwaters after dike breach in Abbotsford in November

The constant loss of farmland in Pitt Meadows cannot continue, he said. Although governments at all levels declare agricultural support, the sad fact remains that farmland continues to be eroded for residential and other types of expansion. Protecting agricultural land and providing incentives for owners to actively farm land that is not currently in production are imperative to food security. He wants to be a voice for local farmers at City Hall.

“If we want to have food security, we have to make sure those guys stay in business,” he said.

Manion has spent more than 40 years in agriculture. He was a farm owner for 18 years, producing mushrooms in Ontario. He was then hired by Money’s Mushrooms, and came to B.C. as an agri-business executive. He and his wife have been residents of Pitt Meadows since 2007.

For the past eight years, he has been a small business owner, championing innovation in agriculture. Manion’s career has enabled him to work with local, federal and provincial governments, along with corporate ownership and large labour work forces, he said.

He is no stranger to City Hall, and sits on the Pitt Meadows Agricultural Advisory Council. He also is the current chairperson of the Metro Vancouver Agricultural Council, and is a director with the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C.

A horse lover who formerly bred Percheron draft horses, he has been a previous member and chairperson of North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association.

Manion said experience in agriculture operations, business acumen and strategic thinking are what’s needed at the municipal level to solve the challenges faced in Pitt Meadows. He would also bring a commitment to complete the current council’s work in progress, such as the Harris Road railway underpass, new fire hall and Pitt Meadows RCMP detachment.

READ ALSO: Otter Co-op in Pitt Meadows will be closed for railway underpass