R. v. Roff, 1996 CanLII 11042 (NL CA)

This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Court of Appeal).

Mr. Roff was charged with violating the provincial Wild Life Act by having various prohibited firearms in his possession in an area known to be frequented by wildlife. Mr. Roff had been apprehended on a boat in Toslow Cove, and the boat had been moored roughly fifty feet below the low water mark. A Judge of the Trial Division held that the Wild Life Act did not apply to areas below the low water mark, as the provincial government had no authority to regulate that area. The Crown appealed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal, which held that the Trial Judge had erred in his conclusion, as the Province had jurisdiction over inland waters. Toslow Cove fell unquestionably into the category of inland waters, and so the Wild Life Act applied to Mr. Roff’s activities there.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/nl/nlca/doc/1996/1996canlii11042/1996canlii11042.html

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