Third Parties: 391605 BC Ltd. and D.N.T. Contracting Ltd.
APPEAL NO. 2017-WFA-005(a) and 2017-WFA-006(a)

This appeal was initiated by the Board to clarify the availability of the “mistake of fact” defence under the Wildfire Act. Regulations limit when high risk activity may occur according to the Fire Danger Class in an area, which is determined by conditions recorded at a representative weather station. If the Fire Danger Class is “extreme” there must be a complete cessation of high risk activities. Use of an unrepresentative weather station resulted in operations continuing during extreme danger class conditions, and a feller buncher caused a wildfire. The Board argued that reasonable care must be exercised in the selection of a representative weather station, that it was not in this case, and therefore the mistake of fact defence is not available. The FAC agreed, and found that the timber sale licence (TSL) holder could not avail itself of the mistake of fact defence because Canfor, which provided the information, had not exercised reasonable care and was acting ‘in the shoes’ of the TSL holder. The FAC found that the contractor had taken reasonable care to know the relevant facts in the circumstances.

Appeal allowed in respect of 391605 BC Ltd., and dismissed in respect of D.N.T. Contracting Ltd.

FAC Decision: http://www.fac.gov.bc.ca/wildfireAct/2017wfa005a_006a.pdf

Third Party: Forest Practices Board
APPEAL NO. 2018-FRP-003

Interfor appealed a determination that it contravened road maintenance provision of the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation, resulting in an administrative penalty of $10,000. The incident involved a plugged culvert that led to a landslide and the deposit of about 1200m3 of sediment into a stream. The Board joined the appeal, but it was later withdrawn by the appellant.

Appellant withdrew the appeal.

Complaint Investigation – IRC/217
October 2018

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. As previously recommended by the Board, government must take leadership on landscape level decisions. Given the type of large scale salvage that is continuing to occur in this area, government should ensure that harvesting and retention planning in such salvage scenarios is coordinated between multiple licensees with spatially-explicit legal direction for species at risk and monitoring to ensure that planning is implemented and effective.
2. Government should use the legal tools under sections 9, 10, and 11 of the Government Actions Regulation or Section 7 of the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation for species-at-risk to protect remaining important fisher habitats in the Nazko area and manage to restore the local population over time.

Responses to Recommendations
Closing Letter

Complaint Investigation – IRC/214
May 2018

RECOMMENDATION

Government should proceed quickly to designate this species as regionally important wildlife under GAR, which would enable the establishment of wildlife habitat areas and implementation of general wildlife measures for protection of western toad habitat, where such measures are warranted. BCTS should revise its protocol to include consideration of younger occurrences of plant communities.

Response to Recommendation

Complaint Investigation – IRC/212
January 2018

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Government should provide legal objectives or guidance for managing the amount and distribution of these plant communities in the TSA.
2. Government should update the list of plant communities in the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy.
3. BCTS should revise its protocol to include consideration of younger occurrences of plant communities.

Response to Recommendations