NLIS 1
October 18, 2001
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)

 

Minister announces new Load Slip System for forest industry

Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods Rick Woodford today announced a new Load Slip System for the forest industry that will allow a more accurate tracking of commercially harvested wood around the province and help reduce the problem of unreported harvesting and processing of timber.

The minister said the new initiative is another example of government being pro-active in its overall prudent and sustainable management of the forest resource.

"This new system will ensure a more accurate accounting process to measure wood flow around the province and provide us with more complete information concerning the use of our forest resources. The information will also result in increased accuracy when calculating annual allowable cuts which govern the sustainability of our forest resource."

The minister noted that thousands of cubic metres of wood are unaccounted for annually. "The issue of unreported wood has been a concern for us for some time, and as a result my department has been looking at ways to strengthen the current process for tracking timber harvest. We are confident that this new system will greatly benefit our sustainable forest management, which is an adaptive process." 

The new Load Slip System, which will be implemented in spring 2002, will require each load of commercial timber transported around the province to be accompanied by a load slip. The document will include details on the authority under which the wood was harvested, its origin and destination. The new system will affect harvesters, processors and shippers who will be required to maintain load slips independent of each other. Forestry officials will closely monitor the Load Slip System and anyone failing to comply with the new regulations will be subject to strict penalties pursuant to the Forestry Act. 

The minister said the new system will strengthen the current methods used for determining wood harvested throughout the province and added that similar regulated Load Slip Systems are being used in several other jurisdictions across the country, such as Ontario and New Brunswick, and have proven to be very effective in reducing the volume of illegal wood being cut. 

Media contact: Sonia B. Glover, Communications, (709) 729-6183.

2001 10 18                          10:10 a.m.


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