[Update - January 2016 - The federal government has signaled that it intends to take over Marilyn's private prosecution - which could mean that they intend to pursue it or that they intend to stay it. Click here for a message from Marilyn and to send a new message to Canada's Attorney General.]
We need your help to get justice for Lemon Creek and the residents of the Slocan Valley. Please take a moment to ask the Canadian Department of Justice to pursue charges against the BC Government and Executive Flight Centre for their role in the August 2013 spill of more than 30,000 litres of jet fuel in the Slocan Valley.
We’ve written before about the spill, and of efforts by Slocan resident Marilyn Burgoon to get charges laid with the help of a grant from our Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund. Marilyn brought a private prosecution against both the Executive Flight Centre and the BC Government, alleging, that “the Province knew or ought to have known that tanker trucks containing enormous quantities of jet fuel were being misdirected.”
The BC Government concluded that “the evidence obtained did not satisfy the necessary criteria to recommend charges.” The Canadian government, despite pressure from Marilyn and others, was missing in action.
On December 12th, BC Provincial Court judge D.M. McKimm agreed with Marilyn that there is a case against both the BC Government and Executive Flight Centre. The Honourable Judge McKimm ordered both to appear in court to answer charges that their role in the spill amount to violations of the Fisheries Act.
Marilyn was delighted, saying:
This is a very important victory for democracy. This Provincial Court decision means that government and industry are still accountable for their actions in a court of law. Even when government and industry drag their feet to avoid investigation of environmental offences, justice can still prevail.
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| Photo courtesy of Arthur Joyce |
But the reality is that this decision – although very exciting and a critical step in the prosecution – is only a first one. Unless the government steps in and takes over the charges, Marilyn now faces the difficult and prohibitively expensive job of carrying on the prosecution of a major case. But the government also needs to hear that Canadians expect the case to go ahead – in the past governments have sometimes halted (or “stayed”) private prosecutions.
That’s why we need your help. Marilyn and her lawyer Lilina Lysenko are asking the Canadian Department of Justice to take over the charges and prosecute the case. The BC Government could also choose to take over the charges, but because it would be a defendant in the case would need to appoint a special prosecutor to avoid a conflict of interest.
Both levels of government need to hear that Canadians expect the Fisheries Act to be enforced, and justice for Lemon Creek and the residents of the Slocan Valley. Please take a moment to send an email to the federal and provincial Attorneys General asking that both governments enforce the Fisheries Act.
By Andrew Gage, Staff Counsel
[Update: January 2016 - Please click here for a message from Marilyn and her current action asking the Attorney General to pursue the prosecution.]