Under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) now in effect contractors and their employees may be penalized and/or responsible for remediation for violations of forest practices legislation. This means the contractor and his supervisor who plants the wrong seedlot on the block may suffer consequences previously applied to the forest company. The defence against these kinds of penalties is due diligence.
Contractors and Employees Liable for Forest Practices Violations
Under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) now in effect contractors and their employees may be penalized and/or responsible for remediation for violations of forest practices legislation. Under the previous Forest Practices Code forest companies who hired contractors to build road, log or carry out other activities were responsible for those contractors’ infractions through the legal principle of vicarious liability.
Now under FRPA government officials can issue administrative penalties and remediation orders to contractors and their employees. This means the contractor and his tree-runner who drives his ATV through the spawning channel, or the supervisor who plants the wrong seedlot on the block may suffer consequences previously applied to the forest company.
The defence against these kinds of penalties is due diligence. In other words licensees, contractors and workers must all take reasonable care to avoid breaking forest practices regulations and document their actions accordingly.
For more information read the attached PDF file: Forest Practices Info Bulletin-Due Diligence