The Natural Resource Compliance Act: Greater Integration In Enforcement On The Horizon For B.C.’S Forestry Sector

On November 14, 2011, Bill 9, the Natural Resource Compliance Act (the "Act"), received royal assent in British Columbia. The Act can now be brought into force in BC by way of regulation.

The purpose of the Act is to make it easier for compliance and enforcement officers to hold offenders accountable for violating natural resource legislation. To accomplish this goal, the Act authorizes the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (the "Minister") to designate individuals or groups of people as "natural resource officers" ("NROs") and to specify the duties and powers of these NROs. At present, enforcement officers have the authority to enforce only the specific statute under which they are designated. Under the Act, however, NROs will have the authority to enforce a broad range of natural resource legislation. The Minister's intention is that NROs will allow for faster and more efficient responses to violations that span numerous natural