The Forest Practices Board can appeal certain decisions made by government officials under the Forest and Range Practices Act or the Wildfire Act, such as determinations of noncompliance, penalties or approvals of plans for forestry or range operations. When deciding whether or not to appeal a determination, the Board takes any public requests to appeal into consideration.

In 2021, the Board appealed a determination by a Ministry of Forests’ district manager who found a person had harvested and removed Crown timber without authorization. The person had a licence to salvage wood for shakes and shingles, but the wood they harvested was outside their licence boundary. Although the government’s compliance and enforcement staff provided the district manager with evidence that the unlawful harvesting occurred in 2017, 2018, and 2020, the district manager only focused on the 2020 contraventions and levied a penalty of $12,000.

The Board appealed the determination on the basis that the penalty was too low and did not serve as an adequate deterrent. The Board was especially concerned with a penalty amount that is significantly less than the economic benefit the person derived from the contravention. Not removing a person’s economic benefit from a contravention creates a risk that penalties will just be seen as a cost of doing business. The Board was also concerned that the district manager rejected evidence about the contraventions in 2017 and 2018.

The Commission allowed the Board’s appeal in part. The Commission increased the penalty amount from $12,000 to about $130,000. The Commission accepted the Board’s argument that the contraventions occurred not just in 2020 but also in 2017 and 2018. However, the Commission did not accept the Board’s proposed method of calculating the penalty amount based on the person’s economic benefit from the contraventions. The person subject to the determination did not participate in the appeal and without evidence from them, the Commission could not accurately estimate the economic benefit. Instead, the Commission calculated the penalty amount based on the estimated market value and applicable stumpage rate for the wood that the person unlawfully harvested and removed in 2020.

Although the Commission did not accept the Board’s proposed method of calculating the penalty, the Board believes the outcome is appropriate and serves the public interest. A $130,000 penalty should act as a strong deterrent to licensees who are considering ignoring the boundaries of their licence and increase public confidence in government enforcement.

More about Appeals:

In conducting its appeals mandate, the Board advocates for fair and reasonable application of FRPA and the WA to achieve sustainable use of forest and range lands. The Board acts on behalf of the public interest, not any single group. In deciding whether to request an appeal, the Board considers whether it would help improve forest or range management, help sustain public confidence, encourage the fair and consistent application of the Acts, or provide clarification or interpretation of important sections of the Acts. Appeals are made to the independent Forest Appeals Commission. The Commission makes the final decision on appeals and those determinations are legally binding.