Court Awards as a Catalyst for Conservation
Presentation Abstract
The Judiciary in British Columbia has a number of options in sentencing violators of environmental laws. In addition to fines and out of court settlements, many statutes now provide innovative opportunities for creative sentencing. One option for creative sentencing is the payment of money to a trust fund with conservation goals for certain projects or actions for the public good. The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) is a not-for-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to invest in projects that maintain and enhance the health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s fish, wildlife, and habitats. HCTF has been the beneficiary of most of these creative sentencing court awards. In 2007, an accidental breach of an oil pipeline in Burnaby released 250,000 litres of oil into the environment, including about 70,000 litres into Burrard Inlet. Following cleanup and remediation by industry, three parties to the accident were convicted and required to pay $447,000 to HCTF under creative sentencing provisions. Located adjacent to downtown Vancouver and forming its primary port area, Burrard Inlet has been severely degraded due to urbanization and industrialization. Over the past century, the estuaries on Burrard Inlet have lost 95% of their habitat values and their biodiversity. Recognizing this, HCTF used the creative sentencing payment to initiate a pilot program that would: 1) restore and enhance estuarine, intertidal and near shore riparian habitats in and around Burrard Inlet; 2) attract additional investment partners by requiring a 3:1 funding match; and 3) improve public awareness of the benefits of estuaries and creative sentencing as a tool for conservation. To date, estuary restoration and enhancement projects have been initiated and/or completed at six sites, including MacKay Creek, Seymour River and Mosquito Creek. The 3:1 leveraging ratio has been exceeded and investment partners include BCIT, the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, Squamish Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, North Shore Fish & Game Club, and Living Rivers.
Session Title
Social and Policy Interconnections
Conference Track
Salish Sea Snapshots
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Snapshot
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Offenses against the environment--Law and legislation--British Columbia; Sentences (Criminal procedure)--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
British Columbia; Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Court Awards as a Catalyst for Conservation
2016SSEC
The Judiciary in British Columbia has a number of options in sentencing violators of environmental laws. In addition to fines and out of court settlements, many statutes now provide innovative opportunities for creative sentencing. One option for creative sentencing is the payment of money to a trust fund with conservation goals for certain projects or actions for the public good. The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) is a not-for-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to invest in projects that maintain and enhance the health and biodiversity of British Columbia’s fish, wildlife, and habitats. HCTF has been the beneficiary of most of these creative sentencing court awards. In 2007, an accidental breach of an oil pipeline in Burnaby released 250,000 litres of oil into the environment, including about 70,000 litres into Burrard Inlet. Following cleanup and remediation by industry, three parties to the accident were convicted and required to pay $447,000 to HCTF under creative sentencing provisions. Located adjacent to downtown Vancouver and forming its primary port area, Burrard Inlet has been severely degraded due to urbanization and industrialization. Over the past century, the estuaries on Burrard Inlet have lost 95% of their habitat values and their biodiversity. Recognizing this, HCTF used the creative sentencing payment to initiate a pilot program that would: 1) restore and enhance estuarine, intertidal and near shore riparian habitats in and around Burrard Inlet; 2) attract additional investment partners by requiring a 3:1 funding match; and 3) improve public awareness of the benefits of estuaries and creative sentencing as a tool for conservation. To date, estuary restoration and enhancement projects have been initiated and/or completed at six sites, including MacKay Creek, Seymour River and Mosquito Creek. The 3:1 leveraging ratio has been exceeded and investment partners include BCIT, the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, Squamish Nation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, North Shore Fish & Game Club, and Living Rivers.
