Legal Source of Fibre
All of the forest tenures we manage are in British Columbia and Alberta where a comprehensive suite of laws and regulations assures customers they are buying wood and paper products from sustainable and legal sources.
In British Columbia, we operate primarily on public lands. Under the province’s Forest and Range Practices Act, our forest divisions must prepare forest stewardship plans that show how our operations will meet objectives set by government for 11 resource values including soils, timber, wildlife, water quality, fish/riparian, biodiversity, visual quality, recreation and cultural heritage. Before government approves the plan, we must invite and consider public and First Nation comments.
In Alberta, as part of our Forest Management Agreement with the province, we are required to develop Forest Management Plans that consider a broad range of forest values and social, economic and environmental factors such as watershed, environment and wildlife habitat. As part of this process, we must provide an opportunity for public consultation when preparing these plans. In 2015, Canfor submitted a new forest management plan for FMA 9900037 to the Alberta government. It included a suite of strategies to ensure the mid- and long-term timber supply is optimized while still addressing other public and resource objectives. Requirements related to conditions including consultation, woodland caribou, growth and yield, stand level structure retention, and old growth targets were approved in 2016.
British Columbia and Alberta monitor compliance through planned and random audits of forest operations and field inspections to ensure forest laws are being followed. British Columbia’s independent Forest Practices Board conducts audits and investigations, and issues public reports. In September 2017, the Forestry Practices Board announced it would examine our activities on forest licence A17007 in the Fort Nelson Supply Area in British Columbia northeast.
Canfor Pulp sources its fibre from the strictly regulated and monitored forests of British Columbia, making it a reliable source of pulp and paper from legally harvested and regenerated forests. Canfor Pulp has Forest Stewardship Council and PEFC chain-of-custody certificates.