With hot dry conditions creating a high to extreme risk of wildfires, a local man is angry he got fined $575 for throwing a cigarette butt out of his window on the West Shore.
West Shore RCMP say they fined a man seen tossing the butt out the window at a stop light on Veterans Memorial Parkway yesterday (Thurs) afternoon. A police officer was right behind him. After being pulled over, the man admitted it was the second time he'd been caught doing that.
Cst. Alex Berube says the man was advised of the ongoing wildfire situation, but he told the officer that West Shore is not at risk and called the fine insane. RCMP state the driver's actions are simply wrong and Illegal.
The man called CFAX this morning identying himself as 'Tony', maintaining he had extinguished the butt, so should not have been charged:
"It was not lit. When I put out my cigarette butts I always squeeze then out. Yes I littered. I'll take that one., But I did not throw a lit cigarette butt out a frickin' window in a wildfire season."
Asked for comment Cst. Berube said if the man disagrees he can take it to court. He also sent us the portion of the Wildfire Act that applies to mishandling burning substances.
It states in part ..." a person must not start or risk starting an open fire ... within 1 km of forest land or grass land, by dropping, releasing or mishandling (a) a burning substance, or (b) any other thing that the person reasonably ought to know is likely to cause a fire.