J.D Irving pleaded guilty to destroying eight Great Blue Heron nests during logging operations. The charges, laid b…
J.D Irving pleaded guilty to destroying eight Great Blue Heron nests during logging operations. The charges, laid by Environment Canada, are under the Migratory Birds Convention Act of 1994.
Irving was sentenced in a New Brunswick provincial court and ordered to pay a $60,000 penalty for violating the act. The company will also have to create a buffer zone to ensure no further forestry operations take place in the area where the nests were damaged.
Citing the protection of wildlife as one of his government’s highest priorities, environment minister John Baird said Irving’s guilty plea is a testament to the effectiveness of environmental enforcement.
According to a report by the Globe and Mail, Judge Patricia Cumming noted the company did not knowingly undertake actions to damage the nests. “I make no finding of negligenceor that this was done intentionally,” she said. The Globe further noted that that colony has re-established itself and is “thriving.”
Print this page
