Unstable Dog Mountain slopes prompt more warnings Alberni Region, Page 3
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Wednesday, July 22, 2015
COURT
Child sex assault case delayed
Judge postpones sentencing due to aboriginal status
» Salmon migration
MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
fish come up from the south. These changed conditions and the warm water that cause these changes to the ecosystem have some implications for Pacific salmon. The little fish, the juvenile salmon coming out of the rivers this spring of 2015, have come into an environment that is very different than what they’ve normally evolved to.” Falconer said a higher percentage of adult sockeye are dying this year from heat stress. “That is why the province is shutting down the fisheries,” Falconer said. “We want to let them have the best chance they can get.” In June, the DFO curtailed, delayed or closed local fisheries. At the end of June, there was a closure of salmon fishing in the Sproat, Stamp and Somass rivers due to low, warm water. Falconer warned of handling adult salmon, which can cause unnecessary stress. She suggests anyone who notices fish in distress or if a system is obstructed, to give West Coast Aquatics or the Alberni Valley Enhancement Association a call. “We can go there and access the situation and clear the passage if we have to,” Falconer said. To protect the fry in the extremely low rivers, Falconer suggests avoiding wading in pools that may be the only source of water for fish and if possible, dig a small trench to connect the pool to the main stream.
Sentencing for a man who sexually abused a 13-year-old girl multiple times in his West Coast home was delayed on Tuesday because the defendant is a member of a First Nations community. A 59-year-old man appeared in Port Alberni provincial court Tuesday and re-entered guilty pleas to charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. The offences were committed over a period of time from June 2013, to January 2014 on a First Nations reserve on the West Coast. The accused was arrested in March 2014 and initially pleaded guilty to the charges in July 2014. After Crown counsel read out the details of the crimes and recommended a sentence of five years imprisonment, defence lawyer Stephen Gosh requested that the case be postponed because the pre-sentence report did not take into full account the defendant’s connections to the aboriginal community where he resides. Judge Parker MacCarthy apologized to the victim’s family but agreed to postpone sentencing. “I have not only a family that is of native heritage that is being impacted by this, but [also] an offender,” MacCarthy said. MacCarthy noted that it’s “incumbent on a sentencing judge to acquire a report on the circumstances of an offender as an aboriginal,” according to section 718 of the Criminal Code. Provincial Crown prosecutor Grahame Merke said it’s the longest delay of sentencing he’s seen for a case where guilty pleas are entered. The Crown opposed the delay, arguing it’s the defendant’s own fault for not cooperating fully with the report. “I’m very, very sympathetic to the Crown’s position,” MacCarthy said. “I don’t want to create a reversible error by not having before me what I need to have before me.” The judge asked that a full report be completed as soon as possible, suggesting that he could hear the case again as early as next month. Merke argued the more severe a crime, the less likely that an offender’s aboriginal background would affect the sentence imposed compared to a non-aboriginal offender. He cited a number of cases from the Supreme Court of Canada and B.C. Court of Appeal in recent years to support that argument. “All children have the right to be free from sexual exploitation,” Merke stated. “There is no automatic aboriginal discount for a crime.”
Kristi.Dobson@avtimes.net
See SEX CRIME, Page 3
Morgan Van Vliet, a summer student working with Westcoast Aquatic, was at Dry Creek to salvage fry on Tuesday afternoon. A record-low snowpack this year has led to criticaly low rivers and streams in the region [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES].
Emergency measures being undertaken to salvage fish from region’s dried-up streams KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
High temperatures came early this year, creating critical conditions for both adult salmon as well as juvenile coho and trout trying to survive in very little water. That’s changed commercial fishing and has some individuals concerned about the protection of fry in local streams. “This is a big concern,” said Sheena Falconer, West Coast Aquatic Stewardship Association executive director. “We have had no snow pack so there is less water in the rivers and lakes, and the low levels are heating up faster.” To help fry survive the conditions, members of West Coast Aquatic and the Alberni Valley Enhancement Association have been taking emergency measures through salvaging efforts. “For the past few months we have been salvaging fry from areas we know will dry up,” Falconer said. “We have been taking them to big open systems so they have a chance to live.” She said the best places to relocate fry are into larger lakes like Sproat or Great Central or from tributaries to the larger Ash, Stamp or Somass rivers. Most often, fry salvage is only done by the groups if the threatening situations are human-caused, but Falconer said they are doing a lot more this year. She said salvaging is not always the best option and is done by
“We have had no snow pack so there is less water in the rivers and lakes, and the low levels are heating up faster” Sheena Falconer, West Coast Aquatic Stewardship
licensed employees and volunteers. Also sensitive to the change in water temperatures and levels, adult sockeye have limited spawning and navigational skills. “That is why so many are dying in the river,” Falconer said. Not surprising, B.C. salmon runs are lower than expected. Although Vancouver Island has recently experienced record highs this month, the warming of the oceans started to occur in the fall of 2013. Over time, these unusual conditions changed the marine ecosystem, and according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s ocean scientist, Ian Perry, changed the distribution and migration of fish. It also changed the food they feed on, he said in a media briefing. “When we have warm conditions as we have seen since October 2014 we get the kind of food web that normally exists off California,” Perry said, adding that warmer condions can cause aquatic animals to be smaller, providing less sustenance for fish. “At the same time as we have a poorer food web we tend to have a lot more predatory
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