Third Party: M.G. Logging & Sons Ltd.
M.G. Logging & Sons Ltd. contravened FRPA by harvesting Douglas fir trees that were required to be retained for biodiversity reasons, contrary to its timber sale licence, and received an administrative penalty of $3500. The Board appealed on the grounds that the penalty amount was too low to reflect the seriousness of the contravention, considering both the environmental harm and the administrative justice goal of deterrence. The Board also argued that evidence of previous contraventions of a similar nature should have been considered.
The FAC found that administrative penalties are intended to encourage compliance with the legislation, by providing specific deterrence in respect of the contravener and general deterrence in respect of the industry. In addition, administrative penalties for unauthorized timber harvesting have the purpose of compensating the Crown for loss or damage to its resources. These overall purposes, in addition to the specific factors under section 71(5) of the FRPA, should be considered when assessing administrative penalties.
The FAC also found that when determining the penalty amount consideration of previous contraventions can include official warnings and compliance notices. Previous non-compliance by a director, an officer, or a closely related company may also be considered providing that adequate notice is given to ensure procedural fairness.
Based on new expert evidence provided by the Board regarding the environmental impact of the contravention, the FAC found that the Douglas-fir trees were ecologically important to the local area, which is near the northern limit for Douglas-fir, and it would take 50 to 100 years for the environment to recover. The FAC also found that the contraventions were continuous and repeated, and there was a high to very high degree of deliberateness, especially regarding 135 trees that were harvested after the TSL holder was reminded of his obligation to retain Douglas-fir.
Considering all of those factors, the FAC decided that the penalty should be increased to include $6,000 for deterrence, plus $21,128.76 for compensation for lost biodiversity values.
Appeal allowed.
FAC Decision: http://www.fac.gov.bc.ca/forestAndRange/2016frp001a.pdf
