How a proposed amendment to the Lands Protection Act could affect non-profits

The debate around land ownership on PEI goes back to the earliest days of settlement when the province was owned by absentee landlords. More recently though that debate has flared up around land ownership limits in particular around the land holdings of Buddhist organizations in eastern PEI. Now government has put forward a proposed amendment to the Lands Protection Act which would require Buddhist groups and possibly some other non-profits to start selling off land. Currently the act sets ownership limits of a thousand acres for individuals three thousand acres for corporations the amendment would create a new land holding limit for non-profit corporations of 400 acres it would also remove the ability for non-profits to increase that limit if they own land that can't be farmed it targets non-profit corporations that quote pursue objects of a patriotic, religious, philanthropic, charitable, scientific, artistic, social, professional, or sporting character. Corporations would be given a timeline to divest any land above the limit. Organizations that qualify for donations of land through a federal program, like the Island Nature Trust, would not be subject to the reduced limit. According to their own figures, two groups, the Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute and the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society own far less than the current ownership limit, but under the proposed change, they would have to sell off about a third of their land holdings. Last year, the province ordered an investigation into those holdings. The results haven't yet been released. CBC News did its own tally and found interrelated Buddhist groups on PEI, together with their spiritual leader, own upwards of 3,200 acres. If this change were to proceed, other groups could also be affected. For example, CBC has calculated the Catholic Church owns in excess of 1,700 acres on PEI through parishes across the island. Government is accepting feedback on the proposed amendment until November 10th. The Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute told CBC it's consulting with its lawyers trying to get a sense of how the group could be affected by this change. Kerry Campbell, CBC News, Charlottetown.