British Columbia v. Canadian Forest Products Ltd.

British Columbia v. Canadian Forest Products Ltd.

The Crown’s claim is limited to the role it pleaded (landowner) in this record; auction value is inappropriate given the statutory licensing/stumpage regime; the CVP ‘waterbed’ effect is a relevant feature of the Province’s revenue framework and on the evidence negates a compensable loss for harvestable timber; no reliable pleaded evidence justified an environmental premium for protected trees; common law may accommodate environmental damages in principle but the Crown failed to prove such loss on the facts, so the trial judge’s dismissal (aside from agreed rehabilitation costs of $3,575,000) is restored.

Citation
2004 SCC 38
Parties
Appellant/cross Respondent: Canadian Forest Products Ltd.; Respondent/cross Appellant: Her Majesty The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia; Intervener: Attorney General of Canada; Intervener: Forest Practices Board; Intervener: Sierra Club of Canada; Intervener: David Suzuki Foundation; Intervener: Council of Forest Industries; Intervener: Forest Products Association of Canada; Intervener: Coast Forest & Lumber Association
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
11 June 2004
Procedural Posture
Tort Damages; Environmental Damage Claim; Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada / Final Appeal (supreme Court of Canada)
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part: trial judge decision restored; cross-appeal dismissed; Bastarache, LeBel and Fish JJ. dissenting in part
Legal Topics
Environmental Damages, Stumpage Valuation, Comparative Value Pricing (cvp) / Waterbed Effect, Parens Patriae, Mitigation of Damages, Passing on Defence, Auction Value Vs. Present Value, Public Nuisance
Source Language
English
Torts Environmental Law Public Law Administrative/regulatory Law Environmental Damages Stumpage Valuation Comparative Value Pricing (cvp) / Waterbed Effect Parens Patriae +4 more

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Parties

Canadian Forest Products Ltd.

Appellant/cross Respondent

Her Majesty The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia

Respondent/cross Appellant

Attorney General of Canada

Intervener

Forest Practices Board

Intervener

Sierra Club of Canada

Intervener

David Suzuki Foundation

Intervener

Council of Forest Industries

Intervener

Forest Products Association of Canada

Intervener

Coast Forest & Lumber Association

Intervener

Procedural Posture

Tort Damages; Environmental Damage Claim; Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada / Final Appeal (supreme Court of Canada)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Province may sue only as landowner or also as parens patriae for environmental damage
  2. 2 Proper measure of damages for destroyed timber: auction value vs. present discounted stumpage revenue
  3. 3 Whether the Comparative Value Pricing (CVP) ‘waterbed’ effect may be taken into account to reduce compensation

Ratio Decidendi

The Crown’s claim is limited to the role it pleaded (landowner) in this record; auction value is inappropriate given the statutory licensing/stumpage regime; the CVP ‘waterbed’ effect is a relevant feature of the Province’s revenue framework and on the evidence negates a compensable loss for harvestable timber; no reliable pleaded evidence justified an environmental premium for protected trees; common law may accommodate environmental damages in principle but the Crown failed to prove such loss on the facts, so the trial judge’s dismissal (aside from agreed rehabilitation costs of $3,575,000) is restored.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part: trial judge decision restored; cross-appeal dismissed; Bastarache, LeBel and Fish JJ. dissenting in part

Orders

  • Decision of trial court restored
  • Crown awarded $3,575,000 for suppression and agreed restoration costs