A-18.1, r. 10.1 - Forest Protection Regulation

Updated to 1 October 2024

This document has official status.

chapter A-18.1, r. 10.1

Forest Protection Regulation

Sustainable Forest Development Act

(chapter A-18.1, ss. 195 and 210).

DIVISION I RATE OF REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES INCURRED BY AN ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING FORESTS

1. The rate of reimbursement of expenses incurred in forest fire suppression operations by an organization responsible for protecting forests is fixed as follows:

(1)  as of 20 July 2016, at 62.5%;

(2)  as of 1 April 2017, at 75%;

(3)  as of 1 April 2018, at 100%.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 1; O.C. 678-2016, s. 1.

2. The rate of reimbursement of expenses incurred to implement action plans against destructive insects or cryptogamic diseases by an organization responsible for protecting forests is fixed as follows:

(1)  as of 20 July 2016, at 62.5%;

(2)  as of 1 April 2017, at 75%;

(3)  as of 1 April 2018, at 100%.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 2; O.C. 678-2016, s. 2.

DIVISION II PERMIT FOR MAKING A FIRE IN OR NEAR A FOREST

3. Any person may obtain a permit under section 190 of the Sustainable Forest Development Act (chapter A-18.1) if the person

(1)  has built and kept a firebreak between the forest and the matter to be burnt, by removing from the surface any combustible matter over a distance equal to at least 5 times the height of the piles; and

(2)  in or near a forest, when a blueberry field is burnt for regeneration aiming at the production of blueberries, the person has built and kept a firebreak around the field, by removing from the surface any combustible matter down to the mineral ground over a minimum distance of 3 m.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 3.

4. No permit is necessary to make a camp fire in or near a forest or to make a fire to clear residential or vacation resort land.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 4.

DIVISION III SAFETY STANDARDS FOR THE PREVENTION AND EXTINCTION OF FOREST FIRES

5. Any person who owns or uses in or near a forest a machine, a building or any other installation, must comply with the following safety standards:

(1)  any motorized or mechanized machinery used in a forest must be equipped with a fire extinguisher in working order and complying with the standards recognized by the Canadian Standards Association or the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada;

(2)  any skid plate installed under an engine must be installed so as to allow the removal of combustible matter that could gather there;

(3)  any operator working on a motorized or mechanized piece of machinery must remove from it any debris or dirt that could start a fire;

(4)  any operator working on a motorized or mechanized piece of machinery must turn off all electrical circuits when it is not in use;

(5)  the exhaust system of any engine must be equipped with a muffler with a spark arrester and be in working order;

(6)  it is forbidden to smoke or to use an open flame within 15 m from a fuel storage or handling point;

(7)  the owner or operator of a motorized or mechanized piece of machinery used in the forest must allow the representative of the forest protection organization to inspect it;

(8)  it is forbidden to use in the forest a motorized or mechanized piece of machinery that is a fire hazard;

(9)  any building or other installation situated in or near the forest and equipped with a coal or wood stove or with an inside or outside fireplace, must have a stack or pipe equipped in each case with a spark arrester in working order made of metal parts whose openings have a maximum width of 1 cm;

(10)  any vegetation within 3 m of the outlet of a stack must be removed;

(11)  any fuel and any flammable product of the same nature must be stored in tightly closed containers, outside of dwellings;

(12)  all dried vegetation and dead wood must be cleared from the surroundings of a building or installation over a distance of at least 10 m;

(13)  any building or other installation must be provided with means for extinguishing and tools for fighting fires at their beginning;

(14)  any sawmill in or near the forest must be established where the ground is mineral;

(15)  any flammable matter must be removed and the premises kept clear of such matter around a sawmill, its out-buildings, wood piles and debris dumps over a distance of at least 30 m;

(16)  a sawmill and its outbuildings must be equipped with fire and spark arresting devices;

(17)  from 1 April to 15 November, sawdust, slabwood or other sawmill debris may be burnt only in a burner with metal sides having a stack equipped with a spark arrester in working order, whose openings have a maximum width of 1.5 cm.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 5.

6. No person may smoke in or near a forest from 1 April to 15 November while working or travelling, except in a building or a closed vehicle.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 6.

7. Any person who starts a fire in or near a forest must

(1)  in the case of a camp fire or a fire to clear residential or vacation resort land, first clear the place where the person must start the fire by removing all humus, dead wood, branches, scrub and dry leaves from the surface within a radius large enough to prevent the fire from spreading;

(2)  have in his or her possession, on the premises where the person wishes to make a fire, the equipment required to prevent the fire from spreading and to extinguish it;

(3)  in the case of a fire to clear residential or vacation resort land, have piled or placed in rows having a height of not more than 2 m the matter to be burnt and over a maximum surface of 6 square metres (6 m2) and have built and kept a firebreak between the forest or any combustible matter and the matter to be burnt, by removing from the surface any combustible matter over a distance equal to at least 5 times the height of the piles; and

(4)  remain on the premises until the fire is completely extinguished.

O.C. 725-2013, s. 7.

DIVISION IV OFFENCE

8. Every person who contravenes section 5, 6 or 7 commits an offence and is liable to the fine provided for in paragraph 3 of section 244 of the Sustainable Forest Development Act (chapter A-18.1).

O.C. 725-2013, s. 8.

DIVISION V FINAL

9. This Regulation replaces the Forest Protection Regulation (chapter A-18.1, r. 10).

O.C. 725-2013, s. 9.

10. (Omitted).

O.C. 725-2013, s. 10.

REFERENCES

O.C. 725-2013, 2013 G.O. 2, 1863

O.C. 678-2016, 2016 G.O. 2, 2949