Adequacy of the Notice of Public Review and Comment for Ten FDPs on Northern Vancouver Island

A complaint was filed with the Board in August 1996 about the way ten forest development plans in the Port McNeill Forest District on northern Vancouver Island were advertised for public review and comment. The complainant requested that their name be kept confidential and the Board agreed to the request. The complainant was represented in all discussions by its agent, the Sierra Legal Defence Fund.

The complaint focused on the acceptability of the notice advertised in early 1996 by the licensee, International Forest Products, announcing that the plans were available for public review and comment. Shortly after the licensee placed the notice in the North Island Gazette, the complainant’s agent informed the district manager that the complainant considered the notice to be flawed because it did not include the name or phone number of a person to contact for further information, and included no information about alternative times and places for the public to review the plans.