Proposed Amendments to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 included in the Building a More Competitive Economy Act, 2025

ERO number
025-1057
Notice type
Bulletin
Act
Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994
Posted by
Ministry of Natural Resources
Bulletin posted
Last updated

This notice is for informational purposes only. There is no requirement to consult on this initiative on the Environmental Registry of Ontario. Learn more about the types of notices on the registry.

Bulletin summary

The proposed amendments to the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994 (CFSA) are intended to reduce administrative burden and make approvals more efficient.

Why consultation isn't required

The proposed legislative amendments are administrative in nature and do not have a significant effect on the environment, we’re sharing the proposed amendments to the CFSA for information purposes and to help facilitate comments through the regulatory registry posting linked below. 

Bulletin details

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is proposing legislative amendments to the CFSA that, if approved, would streamline approvals, reduce administrative burdens, enable the opportunity to prepare forest management plans over larger areas and extend the use of effective compliance tools. The proposed amendments include:  

  • Replacing harvest approvals in the CFSA with requirements in regulation related to licensing terms and conditions (future proposals to amend regulations will be needed to enable these changes)
  • Providing the Minister with the regulation making authority for the four forest manuals (the Forest Management Planning Manual, Forest Information Manual, Forest Operations and Silviculture Manual and Scaling Manual).
  • Extending stop work order powers to address non-compliance with licensing terms and conditions 
  • Extending Administrative Monetary Penalties to include Permits to Remove
  • Enabling forest industry to prepare one forest management plan for multiple management units (future proposals to the Forest Management Planning Manual and Forest Information Manual will be necessary to enable these changes) 

The proposed amendments align with Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy to improve cost competitiveness.  

Supporting materials

View materials in person

Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.

Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.

Ministry of Natural Resources | Crown Forests and Lands Policy Branch
Address

Roberta Bondar Place
70 Foster Drive
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 6V5
Canada

Connect with us

Contact

Amanda McLachlan

Office
Ministry of Natural Resources | Crown Forests and Lands Policy Branch
Address

Roberta Bondar Place
70 Foster Drive
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 6V5
Canada

Sign up for notifications

We will send you email notifications with any updates related to this consultation. You can change your notification preferences anytime by visiting settings in your profile page.

Follow this notice