Former Saskatchewan Party cabinet minister and Kindersley MLA Bill Boyd has been fined under the province’s environmental legislation.
Boyd pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced in provincial court April 17. He was fined $35,000.
The charges arose after conservation officers investigated a possible violation of the Wildlife Habitat Protect Act in June 2017. Protected native grasslands next to private land had been cultivated.
Then, in July officers received a tip about possible illegal work on the bank of the South Saskatchewan River near Eston.
Investigation found the two cases were related. About five acres of protected native grass had been cultivated and riverbank had been excavated.
Boyd pleaded guilty to one charge under the WHPA and one under the Environmental Management and Protection Act. The WHPA charge carried a fine of $7,000 and the EMPA charge $28,000.
He has also been ordered to remediate the damage.
Boyd was asked to leave the Sask Party caucus last summer over conflict of interest findings just days before he was set to resign.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
