A Lower Mainland logging company has won a decisive battle in the legal war it has been waging against the province for more than a decade over cancelled timber rights in Pinecone Burke Park.
Teal Cedar Products Ltd. of Surrey was originally awarded $6.3 million from an arbitrator for losses the company suffered when an area of Crown land known as Chart Area 112 was converted into the park. The figure was based on losses the company sustained after 1999, when the province reduced the allowable annual cut in the Fraser Timber Supply Area.
But Teal claimed it began sustaining losses much sooner than 1999, dating back to 1993, when a moratorium on logging was placed on the area while the province decided whether to turn the land into a park.
The judge ruled the losses should be calculated from 1995, when the park was officially created. The matter is expected to be sent back to the arbitrator in order to re-calculate the damages.
"There is considerable force to Teal's submission that it is sensible to finally dispose of its appeal given the passage of time and the need for resolution," the judge said in his reasons for judgement. He later added, "I am satisfied that the arbitrator erred in not compensating Teal for pre-taking losses attributable to the creation of Pinecone Burke Park on 13 July 1995."
According to the reasons for judgment, the issue dates back to April 5, 1993, when Teal acquired the licence to log Chart Area 112, along with other assets, from Fletcher Challenge Canada. Two months earlier, the Ministry of Forests suspended harvesting activity in the area while it investigated the potential creation of a park.
The moratorium continued until the creation of Pinecone Burke Park on July 13, 1995 and Teal was unable to conduct any commercial logging.
Cheekway Ho, a media relations officer with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, told The Tri-City News in an email that the province is reviewing the court's decision and its implications.
A call to Michael Stephens, a lawyer for Teal Cedar Products Ltd., was not returned by deadline and the company did not respond to requests for an interview.
