A member of Couchiching First Nation has been fined $3,000 for illegally building a cabin near Otukamamoan Lake.
Leslie Baker, 47, had claimed hunting and fishing treaty rights allowed him to build the cabin.
He was fined $1,000 for failing to get a work permit and $2,000 for building the structure after the Ministry of Natural Resources issued a stop work order. He has also been ordered to remove the cabin from public land.
Court heard that Baker built the cabin in the spring of 2001 near Otukamamoan Lake, also known as Trout Lake, about 40 kilometres northeast of Fort Frances.
Justice of the Peace Pat Clysdale-Cornell, of the Ontario Court of Justice, Fort Frances found that: “Baker does not have an aboriginal or treaty right to construct a cabin in and around Otukamamoan Lake.”
Baker was found guilty February 11 this year, after a trial held in June last year. He was sentenced on May 6, 2005.
The ministry reminds the public that the work permit system is in place to protect the natural environment as well as other values.
The public is encouraged to help protect its natural resources by reporting violations to the local ministry office or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
