B.C. forestry company must pay $343K fine for starting 2016 wildfire, court rules
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has upheld more than $343,000 in cost-recovery fines that were handed to a forestry company for starting a wildfire in 2016.
A decision posted Monday says the wildfire near Nazko, in central B.C., burned about four square kilometres after escaping from a debris pile that a contractor set on fire at a Tolko Industries cut block.
The court heard that four so-called holdover fires were reported by Tolko to the BC Wildfire Service for starting active fires in the spring of 2016.
The fires burned under the snow-covered ground for periods ranging from six weeks to five months after they were thought to have been put out, but the wildfire near Nazko was the only one that escaped the cut block.
Tolko initially won an appeal through the Forest Appeals Commission, which overturned the pay order saying the company was exempt under the Wildfire Regulation because it didn't intend to start the fire and it found the blaze was a result of forestry activity.
However, Supreme Court Justice Michael Brundrett says in his decision that the commission made a mistake when it interpreted “fire” to mean “wildfire,” separating the intentional act of starting the burn pile from the wildfire that resulted from it.
“The language does not require the person to intend to start a wildfire that accidentally spreads from a wilfully lit controlled fire,” he says in his decision.
“If one were to limit the cost recovery scheme to wilfully caused wildfires only (e.g., cases of arson), and to exclude roadside debris pile fires deliberately lit by industry participants that accidentally result in wildfires, the resulting cost recovery scheme would be so marginal in scope as to have almost no practical application.”
The Supreme Court decision says in general, timber harvesting results in a significant amount of debris piled along forest roads for subsequent disposal by burning, usually in winter.
Occasionally, it says “holdover fires” occur when debris piles continue to smoulder underground after a debris pile fire appears to be put out.
Tolko burned about 65,000 debris piles in the 2015-16 harvesting season, the documents say.
Tolko was initially handed a $15,000 administrative penalty plus a cost recovery order that included more than $343,000 in firefighting costs under the Wildfire Act, before challenging the cost recovery portion.
However, Brundrett says the cost recovery scheme does not give a free pass to those engaged in debris pile burning who accidentally start wildfires.
“In fact, the scheme appears designed to ensure the opposite.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.