A Thunder Bay business has been fined $27,000 for illegally constructing an airstrip on Crown land, reports Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources.
Marten Falls Logistics pleaded guilty to unlawfully harvesting forest resources without a licence and unlawfully depositing material on public lands. The result of those two guilty pleas was a total of $25,000 in fines.
The MNR says Alan Cheeseman, president of the corporation, was fined an additional $2,000 for unlawfully depositing material on public lands.
The courts heard that in 2009, Marten Falls Logistics was involved in the approval process to build an airstrip on land near the Muketei River, which is located about 350 kilometres north of Geraldton, Ont.
Before any approvals were granted, the company began constructing the airstrip, consisting of a cleared runway approximately 850 metres long and 60 metres wide.
The court heard how during the construction, 5.5 hectares of Crown forest was harvested without a forest resource licence and piles of trees and soil were deposited on parts of the airstrip.
Justice of the Peace John Guthrie heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Thunder Bay, on Feb. 1, 2012.
