Answer: The Principles of Respectful Conduct in Forestry are a set of guidelines designed to establish standards of behavior among employers with respect to protecting health and safety, preventing harassment and discrimination, and maintaining fairness in hiring, promotion, and treatment of employees.

History

The Principles of Respectful Conduct in Forestry (PRCF or Principles) were developed and introduced by the Western Forestry Contractors Association (WFCA) in January of 2021, and adopted by the WFCA Board of Directors later in the same year. The Principles were developed in consultation with industry members and a human rights legal specialist with the goal of establishing expectations of behavior among employers. A primary driver for the Principles was observations of the "Me Too" movement in the media, along with the industry's own process of confronting issues related to concerns around harassment in their own sector.

What do the Principles specifically cover?

The Principles are divided into three essential sections:

1. Fundamental commitments.

   These included commitments to health and safety, preventing harassment, ensuring equality of opportunities, demonstrating respect for communities, and establishing policies and systems to achieve these goals.

2. Specific commitments.

   These include a pledge to avoid insults or other negative impacts to people based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, disability, conviction for which a pardon has been granted or a record suspended, along with special considerations of privacy for workers who live and work in shared spaces.

3. Implementation

   This section covers the steps that companies need to take to bring the Principles into effect through training, inclusion of workers in the review process, providing resources to uphold the Principles, and enacting systems for resolving disputes and grievances.

How are the Principles used?

The WFCA has adopted the Principles, with the expectation that members of the association and the broader forestry and silviculture sector will adopt the Principles themselves, and incorporate them into their own policies and practices. The Principles do not carry any power to compel behavior, but are based on existing bodies of legislation, such as the BC Human Rights Code, which can be enforced by decisions in the BC Human Rights Tribunal.

The WFCA is not a regulatory body with enforcement powers. However, the association does play a role in educating industry members about acceptable standards of conduct, and in promoting best practices for others to follow.

What can workers do with the Principles?

Workers can engage with their employers and ask them if they have adopted the Principles as standards of conduct within their own organization. This can include not only signing off on the Principles and adopting them as an organizational commitment, but also referring to the policies as they make decisions in regard to specific policies and human resource management decisions.