Third Party: Forest Practices Board
APPEAL NO. 2012-WFA-002b

In 2012, the Board joined an appeal relating to a wildfire that escaped from private land to Crown land. A government official ordered the landowner to pay the government’s fire-control costs of $861,356. At issue for the Board was the scope of the manager’s authority to make such an order. The manager decided that his authority was limited to ordering the owner to pay all of the costs or none of the costs. The Board seeks to encourage fair and equitable application of legislation and in this case, the Board was concerned that the manager’s “all or nothing” interpretation could lead to unfair costs orders in some situations. The Board argued that managers have the discretion to order payment of something less than the full costs of fire control, in appropriate circumstances.

In December 2014, the FAC denied the individual’s appeal, but agreed with the Board on the interpretation point, saying: “Had this Panel decided to order less than the full amount of fire-control costs, this Panel would not have hesitated to do so, mainly as a common sense interpretation of the Wildfire Regulation based on the arguments put forward by the Board.” In January 2015, Mr. Unger appealed the FAC decision to the BC Supreme Court. In December 2015, the government and Mr. Unger reached a settlement and the appeal was abandoned.

Appeal dismissed.

FAC Decision: http://www.fac.gov.bc.ca/wildfireAct/2012wfa002b.pdf