Third Party: Forest Practices Board
APPEAL NO. 2018-FRP-001(a)

Lemare appealed three contravention determinations associated with failing to properly maintain a bridge on a forest service road, continuing to use the bridge for hauling timber while subject to a 5-tonne load limit, and failing to obey a stop work order. The district manager levied a penalty of $20,000, but declined to levy a penalty for the bridge maintenance contravention because he believed the bridge condition first became known to an official more than three years earlier and the limitation period had expired. Lemare appealed on the bases that it was entitled to the defences of due diligence or mistake of fact and that the penalties were excessive. The Board joined the appeal as third party to argue that a penalty should have been levied for the bridge safety issue because the limitation period had not expired. The FAC dismissed the appeal, and agreed that the limitation period had not expired and levied a penalty of $3,000 for the bridge safety contravention. The total penalty amount remained at $20,000. The decision is a helpful clarification of how the limitation period in section 75 of FRPA applies in the context of ongoing bridge maintenance obligations and deteriorating guardrail conditions over time.

Appeal dismissed.

FAC Decision: http://www.fac.gov.bc.ca/forestAndRange/2018frp001a.pdf