Most of the U.S. states have, through legislation, allowed for something called the “pour-over will”. Here’s how that works. A person sets up something called a living trust. (Lawyers call this an “inter vivos” trust.) Sometimes that trust is set up with as little as $5, and sometimes the figure is much larger. It is not uncommon, for example, to transfer investment accounts into the trust.

Loggers performing services under a Bill 13 replaceable contract (also known as an evergreen contract) are entitled to be paid a "fair market rate". What is a fair market rate? A fair market rate is one that a willing consumer of these services (i.e. a licensee) would pay to a willing supplier of the services (i.e. a contractor) in a free and open market. The theory behind the legislation is that the parties to a replaceable contract are not willing participants - the licensee is forced to...

The BC Medical Association and the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles worked together in partnership to prepare something called the “BC Guide in Determining Fitness to Drive”. This guide is approximately 400 pages long. The guide speaks to a myriad of medical problems that might affect one’s ability to drive and, accordingly, affect the safety of other motorists. Obviously, drivers with eyesight problems or hearing difficulties can present dangers. So too can drivers who...

A video on the Forest Service Protection Act by John Drayton

Almost every logging contract contains a provision which states that the logger’s relationship to the licensee is that of an “independent contractor”. What does this mean? In the traditional sense, being an independent contractor comes down to control of the work process; to enjoying the profits of a successful operation and risking the loss of an unsuccessful project; and to ownership of the capital, i.e. the equipment. It is easier to define “independent...

A log harvester that successfully bids on a B.C. Timber Sale will harvest the timber and sell it to one or more mills. Usually the sale price is negotiated, and the mill indicates that it will deduct stumpage from that price and remit that directly to the government. In most cases, that system works just fine. In some cases, however, where that mill is suffering financial difficulties, that can become a real problem for the log harvester. Sometimes the mill pays late; sometimes it...

The law concerning the “prime contractor designation” under the Workers Compensation Act has been a hot topic recently, in spite of the fact that this law has been around since 1999. In my view, it is necessary to put this law into its proper perspective. For the moment, let’s ignore the prime contractor provision and examine the other aspects of the Workers Compensation Act. On a typical logging block, the WCB considers there to be two owners, namely the Ministry of Forests...

I often encounter loggers who describe a long working history with a licencee. Similarly, I encounter truckers who may have had a truck seniority position for twenty or thirty years, or who may have spent substantial sums of money purchasing a seniority position.

It is one thing for a logging contractor to have a wildfire erupt on his block while harvesting, and to suffer an equipment loss in that process. That loss could happen merely because the equipment is there. It could happen while the contractor uses his equipment to fight that fire. Most fire insurance will cover that loss. It is quite another thing to take equipment into harm’s way, by bringing it to a fire in order to fight it. Almost certainly the contractor’s ordinary insurance...

With lumber demand being poor, many licensees have slowed or stopped their mills, resulting in decreased work for harvesting contractors. How does a contractor know if it is cutting its entitlement under its Bill 13 Replaceable Contract? The answer to this question begins with an examination of the contract itself. Particularly, the contract will state the amount of work that the licensee is to supply the contractor each year. Usually this is found in a schedule attached to the end of the...