Forestry

Heenan Blaikie’s Forestry Law group has a wealth of expertise in forestry law, which includes a thorough understanding of applicable laws and related regulatory regimes. Our lawyers represent a wide range of domestic and international clients in the forest industry, such as:

• private and public forest products companies
• sustainable forest management (SFM) companies
• timberland owners
• pulp and paper contractors
• sawmill and wood processor managers
• universities, research organizations and forest professionals
• mining exploration companies
• federal and provincial government departments and regulatory agencies
• tree planting and logging companies
• road builders
• transportation businesses

Services Overview

 Heenan Blaikie’s Forestry Law group provides advice in connection with:

• Competition/antitrust and foreign investment – antitrust investigations, tax issues, unfair competition, community forestry, impact of exchange rate on competitiveness, product diversification to create a competitive and sustainable domestic forest products industry
• First Nations and Aboriginal relations – Aboriginal rights and title; traditional Aboriginal knowledge and sustainable forest management, planning and development; cutting and sale of timber on reserve lands; community-controlled forests; First Nations federal and provincial forestry programs; impact benefit agreements
• International business – tropical forests and potential effects of climate change on natural resources; deforestation and sustainable forestry practices; international disputes and agreements such as softwood lumber; international forums and conventions (ex.: United Nations Forum on Forests, Convention on Biological Diversity,United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora); privatization of forestry companies; project construction and development
• Government relations – legislation, regulations and strategies focused on sustainable forest management; government-sponsored initiatives (ex.: Canada Forest Industry Competitiveness Strategy, British Columbia First Nations Youth Forestry Training Program, Alberta Community Reforestation Program and various forestry agreements in Quebec); investments in R&D and innovation, particularly in green technologies and new bioproducts; forest products export programs
• Labour and employment law – occupational health and safety, workforce training and skills development, workers’ compensation, pension and benefits, collective agreements, labour productivity
• Corporate and commercial – credit facility and credit financing agreements, timber tenure transfers and related permits and licenses, road use and right-of-way agreements, forestry contracts for various wood products (ex.: pulp and paper, sawlog supply, timber, chip, fibre supply, lumber)
• Securities and M&A – domestic and international take-overs and other forms of corporate reorganizations; securities purchase agreements; securities compliance (ex.: corporate governance, disclosure matters, information circulars, compliance audits); forestry carbon markets; derivative products (ex.: window frames, doors, furniture)
• Litigation – forest tenure disputes, land use litigation, stumpage disputes, environmental disputes, Aboriginal land claims, contractor disputes, compensation claims against governments
• Arbitration cases in Quebec – arbitration between the Timber Supply and Forest Management Agreement (TSFMA) co-beneficiaries under the Forest Act; arbitration under the Regulation respecting forest transport contracts; arbitration of disputes arising under An Act respecting the marketing of agricultural, food and fish products