Health and Safety
All operators and workers in the French-Severn forest must abide by strict health and safety rules as laid out by the Ministry of Labor. Site visits and audits are conducted by Westwind staff as well as Ministry of Labor staff.
To learn more about health and safety and the Ministry of Labor, please click here.
Tree Marking Audits
“Quality assurance is the process by which a completed tree marking treatment is inspected prior to harvesting to ensure that it meets the objectives of the prescription for the stand and conforms to accepted standards. Tree marking audits are also performed to ensure consistency of marking across Crown Land and to help tree markers correct any potential problem areas before harvesting.” – Ontario Tree Marking Guide (2004)
For more information on tree marking and tree marking audits, please click here.
Forest Operations Compliance
“Under this program, we determine whether forest operations on Crown lands are following the laws, approved plans and operational practices.
Forest management companies must:
- carry out self-monitoring (inspecting and reporting), training and education
- provide reports of forest operations inspections to the ministry
The ministry:
- provides policy direction for forest operations compliance
- maintains the Forest Operations Information Program, a web-based system to document inspections
- monitors and audits
- ensures that forest operations conducted on Crown land conform to government standards, guidelines and rules and confirms action is taken to correct negative impacts to the forest should they occur” – Government of Ontario website (January 2, 2026)
Independent Forest Audits
“Independent forest audits are an integral part of Ontario’s sustainable forest management framework. Each management unit in the province is audited every 10-12 years.
Overview
An independent auditor assesses the performance of both the sustainable forest licence holder and the ministry in meeting their forest management responsibilities.The ministry and industry respond to audit findings by preparing action plans and reporting on the progress towards the completion of actions in annual reports. Action plans are developed after the final independent audit report is accepted. Action plans describe how the findings made by the independent auditor will be addressed.” – Government of Ontario website (January 2, 2026)
Forest Stewardship Council® Certification
Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification requires annual audits to ensure that companies are continuing to comply with FSC certification requirements. In addition to these annual audits, there is also an extensive re-certification audit every five years.
