Trial begins on Irving’s destruction of Heron nests
A hearing begins today in a New Brunswick courtroom to address charges against Maritime conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited after several Great Blue Heron nests were destroyed in 2006.
On November 9, 2006, J.D. Irving Limited and an employee were charged with unlawfully destroying nests of Great Blue Herons, contrary to a regulation under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In response to this charge the defendants pleaded not guilty. Prior to the start of the trial, Irving challenged the constitutionality of the Act and the regulation, arguing that they go beyond federal powers and violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Crown countered that the Act and regulation are a valid exercise of federal power given that they implement an international wildlife treaty and deal with a subject matter of national concern.
On June 9, 2008 Provincial Court Judge Patricia L. Cummins threw out Irving’s lawyers’ challenge to the constitutional validity of the law that protects migratory birds in Canada, the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In her decision Judge Cummins confirmed the federal government’s authority to make laws to protect migratory birds and that the law itself was neither vague nor overly broad.