April 23, 2021 Response from Director, Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

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File:      10497-01 
Reference:   257679, 259384 
April 23, 2021 
BY EMAIL: pluckham@islandstrust.bc.ca
  
Peter Luckham, Chair 
Islands Trust Council 
200 – 1627 Fort Street 
Victoria, British Columbia 
V8R 1H8 
Dear Peter Luckham: 
Thank you for your July 30, 2020 email to Doug Donaldson, former Minister of Forests, 
Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Selina Robinson, former 
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Scott Fraser, former Minister of Indigenous 
Relations and Reconciliation, and your September 18, 2020 email to Doug Donaldson 
regarding your concerns with the oversight of forestry activities within the Islands Trust Area 
and a request for amendments to the Private Managed Forest Land Act (PMFLA).  I have 
been asked to respond, and I apologize for the delay, but feel it is the appropriate time to 
report out on our collective work that has been undertaken on the issue over several months. 
I appreciate your concerns regarding Section 21 of the PMFLA, which is in place to ensure 
that oversight of forestry activities is conducted under the authorities of the Managed Forest 
Council.  The legal opinion that you have included regarding potential legislative changes is 
duly noted.  I appreciate the complexity of this issue as Islands Trust seeks to revise their 
policies to address the development of properties under their jurisdiction.  I have allocated 
resources in our branch to work with Islands Trust and fully examine this issue to formulate 
possible solutions. 
As you are aware, in 2019 a review of the Private Managed Forest Land (PMFL) Program 
was undertaken.  Though still underway, this review brought to light a number of issues for 
communities across the province.  I would like to thank Islands Trust for providing feedback 
to the process since its initiation. 
To better understand the interaction between the PMFL Program and Islands Trust, as 
identified by both yourself and brought to light through the PMFL Program review, in 
January 2021 my staff undertook a specific examination of forestry activities within the 
Islands Trust Area.  The object of this work is to fully understand the mandate and aspirations 
Ministry of Forests, Lands, 
Natural Resource Operations 
and Rural Development 
Forest Tenures Branch Mailing Address: 
PO Box 9510 Stn Prov Govt 
4
th
 Floor, 2975 Jutland Road 
Victoria, BC  V8W 9C2 
Tel: (778) 974-2387 
Email: doug.kelly@gov.bc.ca 
Website: www.for.gov.bc.ca 
   
   

Peter Luckham 
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of the Islands Trust, and to explore options for better integrating the Islands Trust mandate 
with the goals and regulatory framework of the PMFL Program. 
On March 4, 2021, a meeting was held with representatives from Islands Trust to better 
understand your perspective and the guiding principles within which Islands Trust operates.  
After incorporating the additional information provided by Islands Trust from that meeting, 
we have been able to share a

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