Timothy Holland will now have to pay $131,759 for cutting and removing timber outside his legal tenure in the Wei Wai Kum area, after recent decision of the Forestry Appeals Committee. His original administrative penalty was $12,000. An appeals panel assessed that Holland, operating as Bigfoot Forest Productions, earned at least $167,110 by “willfully and flagrantly” ignoring Forestry License to Cut (FLTC) limits between 2017 and 2020. The head of Wei Wai Kum, Chris Roberts, told the CBC he believes the increased fine will serve as a strong deterrent to anyone thinking of doing the same thing on his country’s territory. “It’s a game-changer. I think this is something where we can say, wow, okay, there are clearly penalties and consequences that people are going to face when these kinds of actions are taken,” Roberts said. The original fine was determined by a district administrator for the Campbell River Natural Resource District after an investigation found Holland threatening government officials and natural resource officials by phone and email, the appeal decision states. Roberts said it was “incomprehensible” for Holland to pay just $12,000 for his violations. “How does that work as a deterrent? I think it would almost have the opposite effect, where if someone could get away with paying a small fine, what would stop anyone else from doing it again? There would be a net profit from the illegal activity,” he said. .
“More convenient” for connecting outside the authorized area
The higher fine is the result of an appeal by the Forest Practices Board, which argued in part that the Netherlands should not profit from breaking the law. Holland was not involved in the appeal process. According to the ruling, when a government lawyer reached out to ask for his comments, he responded with an email that said only: “Kiss my ass.” Holland could not be reached for comment. The only phone number CBC could locate for him has been disconnected. The decision by the Forestry Appeals Committee was written by committee chairwoman Linda Michaluk, who noted that the investigation was the result of complaints in 2019 and 2020 by a former Holland employee and one of the Wei Wai Kum Guardians, a group that helps in protecting, restoring and monitoring ecosystems within the nation’s territory. The illegal logging took place in Loughborough Inlet, about 50km north of Campbell River. Michaluk wrote that investigators determined “all but a few of Mr. Holland’s harvest sites occurred well outside the authorized area,” using evidence such as timber records, helicopter flight records and interviews with Holland. “Mr. Holland made several statements confirming the fact that he cut timber “right off the beach” because “it would take you, like, two hours” to get up to his FLTC. I take this to mean that it was more convenient for Mr. Holland to collect timber outside of his authorized area,” Michaluk wrote. It also noted two voicemails and an email to government officials in which Holland threatened violence, including a September 2020 voicemail that said, in part, “You better watch yourself. If you come out … to my house … then he will -The king hurt you… You have a problem with me, man.’
There are ‘very, very few’ of culturally significant cedars left
Roberts said the illegal logging took place in the core of his nation’s traditional territory, an area already deeply affected by logging and industrialization. The fact that Holland was taking cedar was particularly disturbing. “There’s nothing that ranks higher in cultural significance and value to our people. It’s right up there with salmon,” Roberts said. He said projects have been underway for several years to identify what are known as “large cultural cedars” within the territory and throughout B.C. “There is very, very little left for our personal uses, these are to replace our traditional canoes or totems, various wood carvings for chimneys and the list goes on,” he said. Loughborough Inlet is located in the Great Bear Rainforest, an area that has been heavily impacted by logging and industry. (Wei Wai Kum Guardians) Protocols are now in place with most major forestry companies to preserve most of these trees for use by local First Nations, Roberts explained. He said he could not be sure of the current extent of illegal logging in Wei Wai Kum’s territory, but cedar prices were rising, creating incentives for poachers. But Roberts said Wei Wai Kum Guardians will be watching, along with legal logging operators. “All resource users in British Columbia should be aware of the fact that they are going to be operating in what is, for the most part, unceded lands,” he said. “Do your homework and build those relationships with the local nation and the territorial government that you’re operating in, because it’s not just the provincial government or the federal government — you have to pay attention to the rights and responsibilities that we have as First Nations.”
