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This Act is current to March 11, 2025 | |||
See the Tables of Legislative Changes for this Act’s legislative history, including any changes not in force. |
52.02 (1) The holder of a forest licence or an area-based licence must not harvest the allowable annual cut available except as authorized under a cutting permit issued under this Part.
(2) The holder of any of the following agreements must not harvest Crown timber under the agreement except as authorized under a cutting permit issued under this Part:
(c) a forestry licence to cut that requires the holder to obtain a cutting permit before harvesting Crown timber under the licence.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to the extent that harvesting without a cutting permit is specifically authorized under this Act or another enactment.
52.03 (1) Subject to this Part and section 209, the minister may, on application by the holder of an agreement, issue a cutting permit authorizing the holder to exercise harvesting rights under the agreement.
(2) Without limiting the minister's discretion under subsection (1) to consider other matters, in deciding whether to issue a cutting permit, the minister must consider the impact that timber harvesting under the cutting permit, and road construction in relation to the cutting permit, would have on
(a) the management and conservation of forest resources,
(b) cultural heritage resources,
(c) public health and safety, and
(3) The duty of the minister under section 52.05, 52.06 or 52.07 to refuse to issue a cutting permit does not limit the minister's discretion under this section to refuse to issue a cutting permit.
52.04 (1) An application made under section 52.03 must be submitted in the form and manner specified by the minister.
(2) The minister may require an applicant to include in an application for a cutting permit, at the applicant's expense,
(a) information respecting existing or proposed roads that provide or will provide access to the cutting permit area,
(b) information, plans, studies or analyses that the minister considers will assist in considering the matters referred to in section 52.03 (2), and
(c) any other information the minister considers relevant to the application.
(3) The minister may require that the information, plans, studies or analyses required under subsection (2) (b) be prepared by a person with the qualifications specified by the minister.
52.05 (1) The minister must refuse to issue a cutting permit if one or more of the following circumstances applies:
(a) the minister determines that, taking into account the prescribed matters, if any, issuance of the cutting permit would compromise a prescribed government objective;
(b) the cutting permit area is located outside a forest landscape area and one or more of the following applies:
(i) the applicant does not hold a forest stewardship plan or woodlot licence plan, as required under the Forest and Range Practices Act, in relation to the cutting permit area;
(ii) the applicant was required, under section 15.1 of the Forest and Range Practices Act, to prepare and make publicly available a forest operations map before applying for the permit, and the minister considers that, taking into account the prescribed matters, if any,
(A) the applicant has not complied with section 15.1 of that Act, or
(B) the cutting permit area is inconsistent with the approximate locations of cutblocks shown in the forest operations map;
(c) the cutting permit area is located in a forest landscape area and either of the following applies:
(i) the applicant does not hold a forest operations plan, as required under the Forest and Range Practices Act, that applies to the cutting permit area;
(ii) the minister considers that, taking into account the prescribed matters, if any, the cutting permit area is inconsistent with the approximate locations of the proposed cutblocks shown in a forest operations plan held by the applicant;
(d) a prescribed circumstance.
(2) If a person applies for a cutting permit and only a portion of the cutting permit area is located outside a forest landscape area,
(a) subsection (1) (b) applies to the application as it relates to the portion of the cutting permit area located outside the forest landscape area, and
(b) subsection (1) (c) applies to the application as it relates to the portion of the cutting permit area located in the forest landscape area.
52.06 The minister must refuse to issue a cutting permit for a supplemental forest licence if the minister is not satisfied that the condition described in section 14.2 (2) is met.
52.07 The minister must refuse to issue a cutting permit for a master licence to cut unless one or both of the following apply:
(a) the holder of the master licence to cut is authorized, under one or both of the following, to occupy the cutting permit area:
(i) a written authorization from the government;
(b) the cutting permit would facilitate harvesting
(i) for a purpose prescribed for the purposes of section 47.4 (2) (b) (ii), or
(ii) in a circumstance prescribed for the purposes of section 47.4 (2) (b) (iii).
52.08 (1) A cutting permit issued for an agreement must specify the term of the cutting permit, which term must not exceed the shorter of the following:
(a) the period set out in subsection (2);
(b) the period remaining on the term of the agreement.
(2) The period for the purposes of subsection (1) (a) is as follows:
(a) in the case of a cutting permit issued for an agreement other than a master licence to cut, 4 years;
(b) in the case of a cutting permit issued for a master licence to cut, 4 years or a longer period established by regulation, if any.
(3) A cutting permit issued for an agreement must do the following, within the limits provided in the agreement and subject to this Act and the Forest and Range Practices Act:
(a) in the case of a cutting permit issued for a forest licence, authorize the holder to harvest a portion of the allowable annual cut available from a specified area within the timber supply area or tree farm licence area specified in the forest licence;
(b) in the case of a cutting permit issued for an area-based licence, authorize the holder to harvest a portion of the allowable annual cut available from a specified area within the licence area;
(c) in the case of a cutting permit issued for a timber licence, master licence to cut or forestry licence to cut, authorize the holder to harvest Crown timber under the licence from a specified area within the area of land described in the licence.
(4) A cutting permit must include the prescribed terms and conditions, if any.
(5) A cutting permit may include other terms and conditions that, subject to subsection (7), are within the limits provided in the agreement and consistent with this Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act and any regulations or standards made under those Acts.
(6) The terms and conditions referred to in subsection (5) may include, without limitation, terms and conditions respecting one or more of the following:
(a) timber that is to be reserved from harvesting under the cutting permit;
(b) periods during which timber may not be harvested under the cutting permit;
(c) vehicles, machinery or harvesting methods that may not be used in harvesting timber under the cutting permit, either during specified periods or generally;
(d) roads used or constructed by the holder under the cutting permit.
(7) Terms and conditions included in a cutting permit issued for an agreement may set requirements or restrictions that are more stringent than the requirements and restrictions that apply to the holder
(b) under this Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Wildfire Act or any standards made under those Acts.
52.09 The holder of a cutting permit must comply with the terms and conditions of the cutting permit.
52.10 (1) Subject to this section, on application by the holder of a cutting permit, other than a cutting permit issued for a licence to cut, the minister must extend the term of a cutting permit for a period that
(a) does not exceed one year, and
(b) does not result in a term for the cutting permit that is longer than the maximum term for a cutting permit referred to in section 52.08 (1).
(2) The minister may not extend the term of a cutting permit issued for an agreement if
(a) the agreement provides that the term of a cutting permit issued for the agreement must not be extended,
(b) rights under the cutting permit or agreement are under suspension, or
(c) the minister considers that the extension would prevent the fulfillment of an obligation under the Forest and Range Practices Act.
(3) An application under subsection (1) must be in writing and accompanied by payment of a fee equal to the amount determined in accordance with the regulations.
(4) The minister may, on request of the holder of the cutting permit, waive the fee required under subsection (3) if the minister is satisfied that the reasons for the extension are circumstances that are
(a) beyond the holder's control, and
(b) unrelated to the holder's financial situation.
(5) A fee paid under subsection (3) must not be credited towards stumpage.
52.11 (1) On application by the holder of a cutting permit, the minister may, in accordance with the regulations, postpone the operation of the cutting permit for a period not exceeding 2 years.
(2) The minister must specify as the effective date of a postponement under subsection (1) a date that is on or after the date on which the application for postponement was made.
(3) If the operation of a cutting permit is postponed under subsection (1), the minister may, on application by the holder of the cutting permit and in accordance with the regulations, grant one or more extensions to the period of postponement, each for a period not exceeding 2 years.
(4) During the period for which the operation of a cutting permit is postponed under this section, the holder of the cutting permit
(a) must not exercise rights under the cutting permit, and
(b) is liable to perform all obligations that are
(i) imposed, in respect of the cutting permit, under this Act, the Forest and Range Practices Act or the Wildfire Act, and
(ii) incurred before the effective date of the postponement.
(5) On application by the holder of a cutting permit, the minister must rescind the postponement of the operation of the cutting permit.
(6) If the postponement of the operation of a cutting permit is rescinded under subsection (5),
(a) all rights under the cutting permit are exercisable by the holder of the cutting permit,
(b) the period remaining on the term of the cutting permit, as at the date on which the postponement is rescinded and despite the terms and conditions of the cutting permit, is equal to the shorter of the following:
(i) the period remaining on the term of the agreement for which the cutting permit was issued;
(ii) the period that remained on the term of the cutting permit on the effective date of the postponement, and
(c) the minister may not, under this section, grant another postponement of the operation of the cutting permit.
52.12 On the date on which an agreement expires or is cancelled, surrendered or terminated under this Act, all cutting permits issued for the agreement are cancelled without notice.
52.13 Despite any agreement, this Part, and the regulations made for the purposes of this Part, applies in relation to agreements entered into before, on or after the date this section comes into force.
Contents | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 3.1 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 6.1 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 11.1 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
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