Ray Hildebrandt walked into court last week faced with the prospect of jail and a $10,000 fine.
The Manitoba farmer was convicted this spring of illegally draining water from land he works near Ninga, Man. He appeared in Court of Queen’s Bench in Brandon, Man., for sentencing July 22.
Judge John Menzies imposed a fine of $1.
The sentence came as a relief to Hildebrandt, said his lawyer, Michael Waldron.
“I think he was quite glad to have the sentence imposed and know it was only a buck and then be out of there.”
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The Hildebrandt case set a precedent in the debate about who controls land drainage in Manitoba. Menzies ruled earlier this year that jurisdiction rests with the province rather than municipalities.
But when sentencing Hildebrandt last week, the judge noted shortcomings in how that jurisdiction is managed by the province.
“He’s ruled that they have jurisdiction, but he fully recognizes that the jurisdiction part of it is a mess,” said Waldron.
“You’ve got two levels of government basically scrambling and nobody really clearly having a process or guidelines in place.”
Before sentencing, some thought Menzies would impose a more severe penalty, to serve as a warning to other landowners who drain land without provincial consent.
Hildebrandt was the first farmer in Manitoba taken to court on charges under the province’s water rights act. The charges stemmed from drainage work he did two years ago.
But the province’s regional director for the natural resources department said last week he was not disappointed with the $1fine.
“We weren’t looking for any retribution here,” said Bob Wooley.
“We simply wanted to clarify the issue that we have jurisdiction.”
Wooley said the department wants to work with farmers and municipalities on the drainage issue. The Association of Manitoba Municipalities has said it supports the province having control of drainage.
Wooley conceded, however, that the current system for licensing drainage is flawed.
“We recognize the problem and we’re going to try and rectify that.”
But the battle over who controls drainage is far from over.
Waldron said last week they plan to appeal the ruling that placed drainage in the provincial domain. The lawyer said he and his client have had calls of support from producers across the province.
