Forestry

Business in the forest sector is a dynamic and constantly evolving landscape. In pairing deep historical industry knowledge and practical experience with forward-thinking insights, our Forestry team will help you succeed today while adapting and preparing for the future.

Our comprehensive understanding of the forestry landscape is enhanced by our group’s ability to provide a full-service approach to our forestry clients’ needs. Widely recognized as leaders in this sector, our legal team is fortified by expertise that spans a full range of skills and practices.

Our team includes a registered professional forester and counsel who are experienced in dealing with a diverse and complex range of legal issues spanning:

Corporate Transactions

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Governance and compliance matters with respect to stock exchange and securities law matters and disclosure
• Mill acquisitions and dispositions
• Financings
• Joint ventures and partnerships

Commercial Arrangements 

• Forest tenure and land transfers
• Complex and simple fibre supply arrangements
• Project construction and development
• Log purchase agreements
• Market logging contracts
• Agreements between Indigenous groups and forest tenure holders regarding information sharing, sector participation, impact benefits, market logging, tenure management and log purchases
• Road use and cost sharing agreements
• Forestry service agreements
• Forest tenure agreements
• Log and chip supply contracts
• Custom cutting and marketing agreements

Forestry

Forestry Service Agreements

• We prepare forestry services agreements for:
  • engineering and forestry
  • road construction, maintenance and deactivation
  • all phases of timber harvesting
  • helicopter services
  • operation of dry-land sorts
  • terminal services
  • silviculture, including seedling growing, planting, stand tending and silviculture responsibility transfer
  • wildfire fighting
• We provide assistance to Forest Act tenure holders regarding “Bill 13” contract matters, including replacement contracts, disputes, amount of work reductions, buy-outs and assignment

Forest Tenure Arrangements

We offer:

• Tenure replacements, consolidations and subdivisions and issues pertaining to changes of control and amalgamations
• Tenure administration, including cut control
• Compensation claims for takings of timber harvesting rights and related improvements

Forest Policy and Legislation and Future Developments

• We advise the BC forest sector and those that work in the sector regarding matters of forestry law, forest policy and commercial and regulatory matters and issues that arise from that law and policy, including:
  • Assessment of proposed policies
  • Assessment of legislation
  • Assessment of government decisions under that legislation, including decisions regarding:
    • Allowable annual cut
    • Stumpage
    • Land use, including decisions under the Land Act, the Forest Act (Designated Areas) and the Forest and Range Practices Act and related regulations
  • Assessment of agreements and offers of replacement agreements under that legislation granting timber harvesting rights

Forest Planning

We provide:

• Review and assessment of land use plans
• Preparation and amendments of forest operational plans, including joint agreements regarding such plans

Forestry Compliance & Enforcement:

We assist:

• Forest Act tenure holders and their contractors subject to enforcement proceedings under the Forest Act, Forest and Range Practices Act and Wildfire Act
• Forest Act tenure holders respond to Forest Practices Board matters, including audits, special investigations and public complaints
• Forest professionals subject to discipline investigations and proceedings
• With obtaining exemptions from legislation requirements

Log and Wood Residue Exports

• Our team provides advice regarding timber and wood residue exports

 Occupational Health and Safety in the Forest Sector

• We represent clients in WorkSafeBC consultation processes on regulatory changes to the OH&S requirements impacting the forestry operations and forestry manufacturing sectors
• We provide general legal advice as to OH&S requirements that apply to on the ground forestry operations, including:
  • Assisting forestry employers to interpret and understand the specific OH&S requirements that apply to forestry operations
  • Developing and drafting safe work procedures as part of the broader due diligence approach to OH&S regulatory requirements
  • Designing and reviewing incident investigation procedures to ensure compliance with OH&S regulatory requirements
  • Providing OH&S training to supervisors and managers for forestry companies with an emphasis on supervisors’ obligations to maintain a safe work site and potential liabilities under OH&S legislation and the Criminal Code.
  • Advising clients on their OH&S obligations as employer, prime contractor and owner.
  • Implementing audit safety management systems to identify gaps vis-à-vis OH&S regulatory requirements and providing recommendations on improvements to strengthen due diligence systems
  • Advising clients on OH&S liability involving incidents or non-compliances by a contractor’s workers
• We respond to and represent clients in respect of investigations into fatality and serious injury cases, including:
  • Navigating the applicable reporting requirements
  • Supporting employers with incident investigations to ensure compliance with OH&S regulatory requirements
  • Conducting site-visits and witness interviews as part of incident investigations
  • Attending and supporting clients through the regulator’s investigation process
  • Drafting and reviewing incident investigation reports to be submitted to the regulator
• We defend clients against administrative penalties and regulatory charges arising from serious incidents and OH&S violations, including:
  • Reviews of orders and administrative penalties before the Review Division of WorkSafeBC
  • Appeals of orders and administrative penalties before the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal
  • Judicial Reviews of decisions of the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal
• Our team assists and represents clients in respect of Workers' Compensation claims including occupational injury and illness claims, and prohibited action complaints

Environment

• Environmental assessment, monitoring and permitting
• Environmental incident reporting and investigating
• Waste management and pest control regulation

Mills & Manufacturing

• Facilities equipment transactions and procurement
• Supplies procurement
• Zoning and land use issues
• Construction, engineering and related procurement matters

Employment & Union

• Workforce management issues, including employment contracts, dismissals, compensation and incentives and union and collective bargaining issues
• Grievance and complaint issues, including human rights and harassment matters
• Privacy and personal information compliance

Litigation & Regulatory Proceedings

• Our team has a broad range of litigation and regulatory enforcement expertise across all aspects of the forest industry

Who We Work With

Whether you are a small, family-run business, or a large corporation that works internationally, our Forestry team can help.

We represent both public and private forest companies, Indigenous groups, landowners and service providers located both on the Coast and in the Interior of British Columbia, as well as elsewhere in Canada and in the United States.

The breadth and diversity of the clients we work with gives us a full perspective on the various needs and issues businesses in this sector face.

Our clients include:

•  Lumber, panel, pulp, paper and other valued-added manufacturers
•  Public land forest tenure holders
• Private forest landowners
• Indigenous forestry businesses
• Forest sector trade associations
• Trading and wholesale distributors of forest products
• Forestry service providers, including sustainable forest management businesses
• Forestry professionals

Experience

Our experience includes:

• The merger by arrangement of two of Canada’s largest public forest products companies
• Acquisitions and dispositions by public and private forest companies of sawmilling facilities and forest tenures in both the interior and coastal regions of British Columbia
• Establishment and negotiation of long term debt facilities for major Canadian forest products companies
• Restructuring of long-term debt of a British Columbia pulp and newsprint producer
• Negotiation of joint venture arrangements for an OSB plant in northern British Columbia
• Negotiation of complex fibre supply contracts and sales agreements
• Structuring of debt financing for the acquisition of a U.S. recycled newsprint facility
• Representation of forest product companies in numerous compliance and enforcement actions relating to forestry, environment and worker health and safety
• Assisting in obtaining all required permits and completing environmental assessment procedures for an OSB plant in Northern British Columbia
• Negotiation of a memorandum of agreement for forestry activities in British Columbia with First Nations

Team