Ont. man fined $100K for violating lake trout habitat protection rules

A stock photo of an Ontario lakefront cottage with a Canadian flag. (File photo/Arpad Benedek/iStockPhoto)

A northern Ontario man has been fined $100,000 for failing to comply with a work permit in an area designated to protect lake trout habitat.

Robert Platford of Clearwater Bay, near the Manitoba border, pleaded guilty to violating the terms of an approved permit under the Public Lands Act, the Ministry of Natural Resources announced in a court bulletin on Friday.

The charges stemmed from construction activity in an area covered by a restricted area order, which limits development to preserve natural resources, including fisheries and wetlands.

Platford built a cottage in May 2020 under a work permit but failed to remove his old cottage as required. As a result, he exceeded the 20 per cent development limit set by Clearwater Bay Development Guidelines.

The older structure has since been dismantled.

“The Ontario government is safeguarding lake trout populations by ensuring their habitats are not overdeveloped,” the ministry said in the bulletin.

“Restricted area orders mandate permits for construction on both public and private lands to prevent ecological harm.”

Justice J. A. Bernard Caron presided over the case remotely in Kenora’s Ontario Court of Justice on Jan. 20.

Anyone with any information that could assist conservation officers in their investigation is asked to contact the MNR tip line toll-free at 1-877-847-7667 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

For more information about unsolved cases, click here.