Forestry/Environmental News:

Some of the Latest Changes –

• Cut Control Reg 360/96 (under the Forest Act) has been repealed and replaced by a new Cut Control Reg 578/2004
• Government Actions Reg 17/2004 (under the Forest and Range Practices Act) has been repealed and replaced by a new Government Actions Reg 582/2004
• sections 1 to 6 of the new Ground Water Protection Reg 299/2004 now in force
• Credit to Stumpage Regulation 385/81 has been repealed
• Forest Planning and Practices Reg 14/2004 has been very extensively amended and will be available on-line shortly – more changes for Dec. 31/2004
• Integrated Pest Management Act in force Dec. 31/2004
• Fort St. John Pilot Project Reg 278/2001 was amended Dec. 13/2004 and will have further amendments Dec. 31/2004

Kelowna Chosen as Pilot Project for Clean Buildings – A unique federal-provincial pilot project promoting energy efficiency in communities will help the City of Kelowna create a cleaner energy future. The Community Action on Energy Efficiency (CAEE) program is co-ordinated by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency and the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines. CAEE, also supported by FortisBC and the City of Kelowna, will work to identify and clarify building regulations, standards and codes that effect energy efficiency. It will also research ways to address conflicts between the code and the development of sustainable buildings and identify programs that offer incentives to improve existing buildings.

Burner Extension To Protect Resource Communities – In order to prevent the potential loss of forest-dependent jobs, the Province has agreed to grant a forest industry request to extend the shutdown date of B.C.’s few remaining Tier 1 beehive burners. The industry requested the extension to ensure sawmills in seven rural communities continue to operate while more practical, affordable and innovative technologies to create value from the wood waste are examined.

U.S. Again Arbitrarily Inflates Subsidy Rates – The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced the final results of the administrative reviews to establish the new countervailing and anti-dumping cash deposit rates going forward for all Canadian softwood lumber exports to the U.S. The administrative reviews resulted in a combined cash deposit rate of 21.21% substantially up from the 13.22% preliminary finding established by the DOC in June 2004. Read the complete Press Release.

Quickscribe Welcomes Weyerhaeuser – Quickscribe would like to welcome Weyerhaeuser as the latest forestry organization to subscribe to Quickscribe Online. Weyerhaeuser joins a growing list of companies who now rely on our services for all of their legislative needs.

Labour and Company News:

Partnership Act – The Partnership Amendment Act, 2004 will be brought into force January 17, 2005. This amendment act will enable a BC partnership and a foreign partnership to register as a limited liability partnership or an extraprovincial limited liability partnership. Visit the Limited Liability Partnerships page for details.

Local Government News:

Canada's Municipal Sector Unites to Advance New Deal – The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) unanimously adopted an approach to allocating fuel tax revenues in the New Deal that benefits cities and communities of all sizes across the country. Read the complete article.

Quickscribe Welcomes Two New Local Government Clients – Quickscribe would like to welcome the District of Fort St. James, and the Regional District of Fort St. James as the latest local government to subscribe to Quickscribe Online. We hope to serve you well in the coming new year.

Motor Vehicle News:

Consensus Reached On Hours Of Work For Truckers – A consensus has been reached among key players in the Canadian trucking industry on safety rules for inter-provincial commercial vehicle operations. Read the complete Press Release.