THUNDER BAY – A Manitoba resident has been fined $2,000 for illegal dumping on Ontario Crown land. George Blair of Landmark pleaded guilty to unlawfully depositing a material, substance or thing on Crown land. He was fined $2,000 and received a probation order prohibiting him from camping on Ontario’s Crown land for one year.
Court heard that on August 26, 2017, a conservation officer responded to a complaint received through the ministry’s TIPS line regarding a man dumping human waste from his camper trailer on Crown land on East Nelson Lake Road, west of Thunder Bay. An investigation, which also involved Manitoba conservation officers and other Ontario government resources, determined that Blair had been camping with his family in their travel trailer at the Nelson Lake public camping area for two weeks. On August 26, upon leaving the site, Blair dumped the contents of the trailer’s septic holding tanks onto the south side of East Nelson Lake Road.
Justice of the Peace Denette C. Maslach heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Thunder Bay, on June 27, 2018.
The ministry reminds the public that it is illegal to dump anything on Crown land without authorization. Sewage or greywater must be disposed of at an approved facility.
To report a natural resources violation, call the MNRF TIPS line at 1-877-847-7667 toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). And visit Ontario.ca/mnrftips to view an interactive, searchable map of unsolved cases. You may be able to provide information that will help solve a case.