February 1, 2013 - As communicated in June 28, 2012, it was advised that the use of Standard interpretations for 2.3.3 and 3.1.2 under the FSC Canada National Boreal Standard should cease.
Following ongoing discussions with FSC International’s (FSC IC) Policy and Standards Unit (PSU), it has been agreed that no further interpretations will be provided for 2.3.3 and 3.1.2 under the FSC Canada National Boreal Standard.
Therefore Certification Bodies shall directly assess the wording of the Boreal Standard in all Certification, Renewal and Annual Surveillance audits from today onwards.
All new and renewed Certificate Holders shall comply with existing requirements as described in the National Boreal Standard for 2.3.3. and 3.1.2.
Existing Certificate Holders shall have a period of 12 months to comply with any minor Corrective Action Requests issued for non-compliance with the requirements as described in 2.3.3 and 3.1.2 of the National Boreal Standard. Failure to fulfil these requirements within these 12 months shall be addressed by a major non-conformity with no possibility of extension.
As FSC Canada starts their National Forest Management Standards Revision Process and aligns requirements to new FSC IC Principles and Criteria, International Generic Indicators and other guidance (e.g. FSC Guidance for Free, Prior and Informed Consent), more detailed approaches will be developed for applying and meeting FSC policies while developing indicators that work in a Canadian context.
For questions or concerns, please contact Vivian Peachey, Standards & Policy Director, FSC Canada: v.peachey@ca.fsc.org