Chisum Fined For Unlicensed Use Of Crown Timber
Monday, October 05, 2009 at 12:37
A fine of $6,300 has been imposed on a northern log home building operation.
On Friday, a provincial court judge found both Chisum Log Homes and Lumber and its owner Garry Varga guilty of operating without a processing facility license.
The company specializes in cottage and log houses, and operates out of Weyakwin.
Forestry enforcement specialist Daryl Rowland says the company was processing timber from Crown land without a license, and ministry officials had notified Varga that this was improper.
“He (Varga) was subsquently issued a stop-work order, to not continue doing anything more, and after that stop-work order, he continued to process Crown wood, so he was subsequently charged for that,” Rowland says.
Rowland says Chisum can keep processing wood taken from private sources if it wants to, but will need to get the license if it wants to process Crown timber.
He says the province needs forest products operators to have these permits for environmental reasons, as well for the ministry to “keep tabs” on what the companies are processing and whether their dues and fees have been paid.
“We’re hoping the other companies will — if they’re considering doing likewise, then they will take a second look at it,” Rowland says.
He says he hopes the case convinces all operators to make sure they have their licenses in place.