The chair of British Columbia’s forest watchdog says he was pleased to see a bill introduced with proposed changes to the Forest and Range Practices Act that could “reassert the public interest” in forestry decisions.
The existing system tends to be “industry driven” and doesn’t plan for the health and makeup of forest ecosystems in the long term, Kriese said. Earlier amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act passed in 2019 are meant to give the public the ability to weigh in on proposed activities, such as logging roads and cut blocks, but those changes have yet to take force, he said.
Another key change would allow for the public disclosure of penalties and fines levied under the Forest and Range Practices Act, said Kriese, explaining that the public doesn’t find out what happened if someone has broken the law. Kriese said he hopes additional amendments expected later this fall to the Forest Act, which is separate from the Forest and Range Practices Act, would address what he called an “unusual” level of constraint on government decision-making.
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