Stronger Wildfire Prevention and Enforcement

Summary#

This bill updates Newfoundland and Labrador’s Forestry Act. It expands wildfire prevention rules to more places, strengthens enforcement and safety duties, and modernizes permits and penalties. It also gives officials clearer powers to restrict access during high fire risk and to manage fires.

Key changes:

• Expands where the Act’s forest travel and fire rules apply: all forest land, land within 300 metres of forest land, and any land with flammable vegetation (plants that can easily catch and spread fire). Roadways are excluded.
• Removes past exclusions for provincial parks, municipal parks, and private campgrounds from forest travel restrictions.
• Lets the minister restrict travel in more areas during high fire risk or during/around pesticide or herbicide spraying, and issue province‑wide fire bans (proclamations) when needed. Notices no longer have to be in a newspaper; they must be published promptly in a way that reaches people.
• Tightens permits: burn permits are required in more places during fire season; permits can be suspended by regulation or cancelled for violations; operating permits are required for cutting/removing trees or activities likely to cause fires during fire season (and at other times if set in regulations).
• Increases safety duties: bans careless disposal of burning materials; requires spark arrestors on engines near forests; sets rules for refuelling and fuel containers; requires clearing flammable material at camps/mines/mills/dumps; and sets duties to fight and report fires.
• Strengthens enforcement: forestry officials can order people to help or to leave an area during a fire and can requisition private equipment (with compensation set by the minister). Officials gain peace officer powers for enforcing the Act and can seize items to help determine fire causes.
• Moves fines out of the Act; penalties and ticketable offences will be set by regulation under the Provincial Offences Act. Creates new offences, including operating a mill while suspended and recklessly or negligently starting a forest fire.
• Adds and updates definitions (such as flammable vegetation, industrial operation, mill waste) and updates references to other laws and the Supreme Court.

What it means for you#

• Residents and visitors

  • Travel into forests and nearby areas can be restricted more often and in more places, including parks and private campgrounds, during high fire risk or spray operations.
  • During fire season, you will likely need a burn permit to light fires on or near forested areas, unless an order or regulation allows an exception.
  • You must not toss lit cigarettes, matches, or hot ashes; any allowed fire must be fully extinguished.
  • A forestry official can order you to leave an area to control or put out a fire, or to provide reasonable help. You must report a forest fire if you know one has started on forest land.
  • Group leaders entering these areas during fire season must inform their group about fire‑safety rules.

• Landowners and rural residents

  • Rules apply to land with flammable vegetation, not just deep forest. Backyard or brush burning in these areas during fire season will commonly require a permit.
  • Engines and equipment used on or near forest land must have spark arrestors; fuel must be stored in approved containers; take care when refuelling.
  • Your equipment could be requisitioned to fight a fire; the minister sets compensation.

• Campground and park operators

  • Your sites are no longer excluded from forest travel restrictions. You may face temporary access limits and must follow fire‑safety rules.

• Mill owners/operators

  • The minister (or authorized persons) can suspend or cancel a mill licence or suspend some/all operations for non‑compliance. Operating while suspended is an offence.
  • Fires in mill waste cannot be left unattended without approval. You must show your licence if asked by a forestry official.

• Logging, mining, and other industrial operators near forests

  • You must clear at least 30 metres around sites (including stockpiles, waste, and debris) of flammable material, and keep required firefighting equipment on site.
  • If a fire starts, you must immediately notify officials and fight the fire with the people and equipment you have until relieved or it is out.
  • You need an operating permit during fire season to cut/remove trees or do activities likely to cause a fire, and possibly outside fire season if regulations require. Continuing after a permit is suspended or cancelled is an offence for each day it continues.

• Off‑road users (ATVers, hunters, hikers)

  • Access may be restricted over larger areas during high fire risk or spraying. You must follow posted orders and any permit rules.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Possible effects:

• Government may face added enforcement and administration costs (issuing, suspending, and monitoring permits; public notices; field operations).
• Compensation may be owed when private equipment is used to fight fires; pay rates for fire fighting under this Act are set by the minister.
• Businesses and operators may face compliance costs (clearing areas, equipment like spark arrestors, maintaining firefighting gear, obtaining permits).
• Fine revenue will depend on penalties set by regulation and actual enforcement.

Proponents' View#

• The bill appears intended to reduce wildfire risk by extending fire‑prevention rules to any area with flammable vegetation and within 300 metres of forest land.
• It could improve safety by giving officials clearer powers to restrict access during high‑risk periods and to manage fires on the ground (ordering assistance, evacuations, and using needed equipment).
• Modernizing notices (beyond newspapers) could speed up public warnings during fast‑changing fire conditions.
• Setting penalties and ticketable offences by regulation may allow faster adjustments and more proportionate enforcement.
• Clearer duties for mills and industrial operations, plus the ability to suspend licences or operations, may improve compliance and reduce ignition risks.
• Adding offences for reckless or negligent fire starts could deter risky behaviour.

Opponents' View#

• One concern is scope: applying rules to any land with flammable vegetation could cover many private properties, creating uncertainty about when permits are needed.
• Penalty amounts are not in the Act and will be set by regulation, so people cannot see the exact consequences in the law itself.
• The powers to order assistance, requisition private equipment, and order people to leave areas may raise questions about fairness, notice, and how compensation is set.
• Travel restrictions now include parks and private campgrounds, which could disrupt recreation or tourism during high fire risk.
• More permits and duties (for example, clearing 30 metres, maintaining gear, permit suspensions) may increase administrative and compliance burdens, especially for small operators.
• Several important details will depend on future regulations (e.g., exceptions to permit requirements, suspension and reinstatement rules), making practical impacts hard to judge until those rules are made.