R. v. Bennett, 2008 NSPC 40 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Bennett was under the Nova Scotia Environment Act for failing to provide information and providing false or misleading information.

As a Qualified Person Level 2 (QP 2) under Nova Scotia's On-Site Sewage Disposal Regulations, Mr. Bennett submitted an application for the approval of an on-site sewage disposal system. In doing so, he failed to disclose the location of a well or wells on an adjacent property. In a separate incident, he submitted an application for the approval of another on-site sewage disposal system and recorded inaccurate information about the soil quality and the slope of the land where the system would be placed.

Mr. Bennett raised the defences of officially-induced error and due diligence, and he also raised issues concerning his rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court held that the defences of officially-induced error and due diligence could not succeed. It also found that Mr. Bennett’s arguments concerning his Charter rights related to an isolated aspect of his case and did not require a full response, as the Crown had failed to prove that small part of its case against Mr. Bennett. The Court held that the primary charges against Mr. Bennett had been proved, and he was therefore convicted.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nspc/doc/2008/2008nspc40/2008nspc40.html

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