Deerhunter MLA not welcome, Kenney says

DIDSBURY, ALTA .• An embattled independent member of Alberta’ s legislature’ s bid to return to the United Conservative Party caucus was rejected Friday after he pleaded guilty to illegal hunting and was ordered to pay a fine of $3,000.

In a statement issued after Derek Fildebrandt’s court appearance, UCP Leader Jason Kenney said the MLA didn’t mention the case during a November meeting with party leaders about his bid to rejoin caucus.

“As elected representatives, we must be expected to show the highest level of integrity ... Fildebrandt has unfortunately demonstrated a pattern of behaviour that does not meet that standard,” Kenney said.

Fildebrandt, 35, admitted shooting a deer last Nov. 4, on what he thought was Crown land.

He pleaded guilty to an offence under the Wildlife Act of Alberta of being in unlawful possession of a deer.

In reading from a statement of agreed facts, prosecutor Craig Kallal said wildlife officers were called to a rural property near Sundre by the landowner after she discovered a truck parked at a gate in her field.

The driver told her his buddy had just shot a deer in the field and they had permission to hunt on the land, to which the woman disagreed indicating she and her husband were the owners.

Fildebrandt soon came into view dragging the animal’s carcass.

“Fildebrandt immediately apologized and said that he thought he had been on Crown land,” said Kallal.

The MLA “indicated that he had not seen any of the ‘ no hunting’ signs ... posted at various points in the field,” the prosecutor said.

“He apologized again for not having seen the signs.” When a wildlife officer arrived, Fildebrandt immediately admitted to shooting the deer.

Following the guilty plea, Fildebrandt issued a statement: “I inadvertently shot a deer on private land without the owners’ permission. Every hunter knows it is their responsibility alone to know what property they are on and for this, I am truly sorry.”

Outside court, his lawyer stressed that Fildebrandt only admitted a provincial offence, not a criminal one.

“I certainly believe that this is the end of ... his legal woes,” Dale Fedorchuk said.

Fildebrandt left caucus in August to sit as an independent after it was revealed he had rented out his taxpayerfunded apartment on Airbnb and double- dipped on meal expenses.

He was also handed a $ 402 fine on Dec. 18, after he backed into a neighbour’s van in Edmonton in June 2016.

Fildebrandt told CBC as he was leaving provincial court in Didsbury Friday that in the meeting with Kenney “he hadn’t expected a grilling about everything going on.”

“It had been my intention to discuss it but I didn’t at the time,” he said.