Raise fines to curb illegal dumping: councillor
SYDNEY — At least one Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillor feels that curbing illegal dumping might be best solved if the current fine to penalize such behaviour can be increased.
“I firmly believe that higher and stiffer penalties will deter these illegal activities,” District 7 Coun. Steve Parsons said. “Nobody wants to see dumping going into their backyards.
“If we didn't have the landfill (on SPAR Road) that you could visit daily, or if we were charging people a fee for dumping their garbage, then maybe I could understand this behaviour. I mean, I still don't know why people illegally dump to begin with, but the fact that this facility is open – with COVID rules and regulations in place, why someone would drop off six or seven bags of garbage in the woods … I don't get that.”
The current fine for anyone caught illegally dumping within the municipality is $697.50. Even someone caught littering can face anywhere from a $250 to $410 fine, said Const. Arnold McKinnon, the Cape Breton Regional Police officer responsible for illegal dumping investigations and charges.
“I've been working with Const. McKinnon distributing signs throughout Blackett's Lake and Gillis Lake Road,” said Parsons, whose constituency includes these areas. “It's a giant effort of different things that you can take advantage of, be it stiffer fines, signage, help from corporate citizens to take some responsibility … collectively, there has to be a strategy moving forward.”
Illegal dumping has plagued
the municipality for years, said CBRM solid waste manager Francis Campbell.
“I don't know what's going to change these people who continue to do this,” he said. “The information is out there. Our facility is open five days a week, eight hours a day. The disposal options are there. I think enforcement has to be a big part of things going forward.”
UP TO COUNCIL TO DECIDE
Campbell said it would be up to council to formally decide on increasing the illegal dumping fine.
“If that's the direction they want to go in, we can go through the process of raising that fine,” he said.
Parsons and Campbell both commend McKinnon for taking the initiative for patrolling the CBRM, taking note of where illegal dumping occurs, reporting and tracking down culprits and, if they're caught, handing down the required fine.
“I just charged four people on the weekend, and I'm looking for two more (Wednesday),” McKinnon said Wednesday.
As for Parsons' suggestion of a future fine increase, McKinnon feels that might not be the best tactic.
“You can't shoot for the moon,” McKinnon said. “This is a learned issue, something we have to tell people not to do anymore. The current fines in place are adequate.”
District 1 Coun. Gordon MacDonald also doesn't see an increase in the $697.50 fine as a way to curb the ongoing problem. “Do I think it'll make a difference? Probably not,” he said. “Better education on this would be the solution.
“The problem is there's a majority of people who feel they're not going to get fined. They'll try to do this dumping when there's nobody looking. I know (Const. McKinnon) is doing what he can, but there's too many for one officer to handle. That's why we need to keep telling people over and over it's their responsibility, it's their community, it's their environment. Look after it.”