AB-2025-02163 - Timber Dues System Surveys and Analysis

Following legislative amendments to the Timber Management Regulation that took effect on May 1, 2021, the Province is required, as per Schedules 1, 2, and 4, to "consider the results of cost and revenue surveys conducted by the Department with respect to Alberta mills [on an annual basis]." The results of these surveys are used to update the Timber Dues Ministerial Order once each year to ensure that Albertans receive fair returns for the forest resource when timber is harvested by tenure holders. Administration of the surveys requires financial accounting expertise and specific knowledge of Alberta forest product mill and forestry operations. The objective of the contract is to ensure that Alberta's timber dues rate tables reflect current financial conditions in alignment with the Province regulatory responsibilities. The goals of the project are to provide accurate financial survey data to enable updates to the Timber Ministerial Order for the 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28, 2028/29, and 2029/30 timber years (May 1 to April 30). Outputs include survey and database administration for the aforementioned years and annual results presentations to the department and forest industry. In addition to project work associated with maintenance of the timber dues system, the department requires financial and economic analysis capabilities to inform operations analysis and policy development, including subregional planning, timber valuation, impact and operational analysis (including wildfires and other disturbance events, supply chain disruptions, and climate change), and policy development. Outputs include impact financial and economic analysis, valuation analysis, and jurisdictional scans.