Proposed legislation will protect logging contractors

British Columbia is proposing a new Forestry Service Providers Act to replace the Woodworker Lien Act.

In 2007, when Pope & Talbot went under, logging contractors suffered without payment for their services.

This new, proposed legislation, will strengthen payment protection for logging contractors by allowing contractors to register liens for services including falling, yarding, and hauling.

“By enabling a fund and providing for liens on forest products, we’re ensuring that logging contractors will be protected financially,” said Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell. “In 2007, when Pope & Talbot declared bankruptcy, not all logging contractors received payment for their services. The Forestry Service Providers Protection Act is designed to prevent situations like that from happening again.”

Contract rights will also be addressed by the new legislation. With a new valuable, renewable contracts, contractors would have their harvesting rights guaranteed, meaning the contractors could retain their rights even if a forestry licensee for a tree farm (TFL) was bought out by another company.

Read more:

Forests ministry introduces legislation to deal with liens, Bill 13 contract issues (Arrow Lakes News)