Fishers challenge hefty fines for using closed park pier
A group of Oshawa fishers who say they’ve been fishing off the pier at Lakeview Park for years were shocked when the city’s bylaw department began handing out hefty fines for using the closed pier this winter. Kevin Grima, Mark Walker and Mark Whiffen all received $250 nuisance tickets from Oshawa bylaw officers on Jan. 23.
Grima said he’s been fishing off the pier for 31 years but hasn’t spent much time there in recent years. He decided to cast a line after dropping his kids off at school but spent only 20 minutes on the pier as it was colder than he initially anticipated.
When he returned to the parking lot, he was met by bylaw officers.
“They said, ‘You’re not allowed to fish off the pier,’ and I said, ‘Can’t you give me a warning?’ ” Grima said.
Grima said he entered the pier off the beach and didn’t see the no entry sign on the main path.
Walker and Whiffen were also ticketed the same day. Both say they regularly fish off the pier in the winter months and are aware it’s posted as closed.
“We’ve literally been fishing on this pier for decades and nothing’s ever been said to us before about us being there,” Walker said.
Walker appealed his ticket and had it reduced to $75 but says he can’t continue to fish on the pier if he’s at risk of getting ticketed. Whiffen’s appeal was pending.
The fishers say prime trout season runs from mid-February into March, when the fish come in from the lake and gather around the harbour before heading upstream in the spring.
Jerry Conlin, director of municipal law enforcement and licensing services in Oshawa, said the pier is closed in winter for safety reasons.
“We don’t maintain the pier, we don’t go out and salt it so it’s really open to the elements this time of year, and it may be great trout fishing season or whatnot but we have to look at the safety elements,” he said.
Conlin said the pier is federal land and the city has an agreement for the public to use the pier.
“The only reason this is an issue right now is because we’re concerned about the people who go out there. If the ice builds up, they can slip; fall in to the harbour,” he said. “This year it’s been brought to our attention people are going onto the pier (and) because of the ice that has built up around the pier it’s been very treacherous.”
He added the city will continue to enforce the pier’s closure and if people opt to use it they will be asked to leave and may receive a ticket.
Walker and Whiffen said they want to fight for access to the pier, though they worry that if they go through the council process, they’ll miss most of the fishing season this year.
Grima also went through the ap- peal process and had his ticket reduced to $75.
He declined and said he’s planning to move to the next step in the appeal process because he doesn’t believe the ticket was fair.
“I’m just going to fight it to the end and see what I can get.”