Two Edmonton men faced hefty fines after both pled guilty to entering an area that was closed for the protection of Jasper National Park’s dwindling caribou herds.
The fine is substantially more than the $1,500 fine six people received earlier this year after pleading guilty to similar offences.
According to the crown prosecutor, on Jan. 26 Denver Moody, Paul Sopcak and Sopcak’s young daughter were caught coming out of the Bald Hills Trail. According to the Crown, the three ignored two closure signs and passed tape closing access to the trail.
Cameras installed in the area alerted park wardens that someone had passed the closure. Upon arrival, warden Joe Storms found fresh tracks. He waited at the trailhead until the group came out.
After being questioned, the Crown said the group indicated they were not aware of the closure.
“They aren’t proud of that,” said defense counsel Laurie Rodger. “They knew that they were doing something wrong, but they didn’t know the closure had something to do with an endangered species.”
According to Rodger, the group saw the sign, but failed to read it.
“They don’t dispute culpability. They just disagree that they should have to pay five times the amount as other people.”
“Everything in this current case is the same as those cases,” Rodger said. “There is no evidence that the caribou were harmed—nothing makes this worse so my clients should be treated equally for the same crime.”
Their case was heard in Jasper Provincial Court, Aug. 25.
In the winter Parks Canada closes access to the Tonquin, Maligne-Brazeau and North Boundary areas to protect the park’s endangered caribou herds.
According to Parks, human made tracks give wolves—the caribou’s primary predator—an unnatural advantage, allowing them to reach caribou in alpine areas.
“In defence of my clients I think Parks Canada could improve its signage. If you’re going up there then there should be a few signs in the parking lot and at the start of the trail,” Rodger said. “In this case you’ve got a warning on the last sentence of a sign that was hidden away out of sight.
“It’s not very obvious to people and that’s certainly the case with my clients—if they had of known then they wouldn’t have done it.”
Rather than place the blame on Parks, Crown prosecutor Dawn Poskocil argued that if the penalty for this crime were more severe people would be less likely to disobey the closures.
“I would suggest that these men are upper middle class and they need more than a slap on the wrist,” Poskocil said.
In rebuttal, Rodger said that he believes $1,500 is enough for people to “get the message.”
“Fifteen hundred dollars is pretty substantial and all the cases have been in the local papers. I think that’s enough to be taken seriously,” Rodger said. “I’d be very surprised this winter if you see any more of these cases because word has gotten out.”
After two hours of debate, Judge D.C Norheim said he would need more time to consider the penalty for the men.
“There are issues here and I want time to consider all the material given. It strikes me that the primary issue here is what is the appropriate penalty,” Norheim said. “I’ll consider the evidence ... And decide whether it’s appropriate to increase the penalty in this case to be more than the others, who committed the same offense or similar offenses during a similar timeframe.”
The case will be back before the court on Dec. 8.
Kayla Byrne
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