A Drumheller man who ran as a mayoral candidate in the October 2021 municipal elections has been fined $500 for breaching the Town of Drumheller’s Solid Waste Management Bylaw following a court appearance on Friday, August 19.
Ed Almond, who represented himself, was charged with two counts of overfilling a recycling container or leaving waste on the grounds of the recycling drop-off, and one count of entering for the purpose of scavenging.
The incident, dating back to May 2022, was captured on video surveillance at the drop-off location, and screenshots of this surveillance footage was entered into evidence.
In the photos a person, alleged to be Mr. Almond, was seen to be overfilling or otherwise leaving waste on the ground of the recycling drop-off, and then removing something from the container.
Although Mr. Almond never admitted the person in these images was him, the Honourable Judge J. Schriar was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as a bylaw officer, who knows and has dealt with Mr. Almond on previous occasions, identified him as the person in the photo.
She also noted an additional image, which clearly showed the license plate of a vehicle, confirmed to belong to Mr. Almond, along with the confirmation by the officer, was sufficient, irrefutable proof the person in the photo was Mr. Almond.
Other photos were also entered into evidence by Mr. Almond showing signage at the drop-off location, which clearly show the types of materials accepted, information regarding the Solid Waste Management Bylaw, as well as contact information for the Drumheller Landfill.
Based on this evidence, Judge Schriar expressed Mr. Almond had plenty of notice he was in a regulated space with security cameras present. She added, since the offense in May, the Town has placed additional signage at the site with further information and the Drumheller Landfill website.
In regards to the single scavenging charge, Judge Schriar explained the wording of the Town’s bylaw was “too narrow” and it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt Mr. Almond purposefully entered the site to scavenge.
Although there were photos of him digging in and removing something from one of the containers, Judge Schriar stated she could not infer Mr. Almond intentionally entered the site for the purpose of scavenging. Further, the Town had not proven more than a “serendipitous find”-meaning Mr. Almond merely came upon the item by accident.
Judge Schriar noted, however, the onus was on Mr. Almond to follow up-which he failed to do, either before or after the incident-and she found no evidence of due diligence on his part.
Mr. Almond was fined $250 on each of the two counts of overfilling the recycling container or leaving waste on the ground at the drop-off location, totalling $500, and given six months time to pay; the scavenging charges were withdrawn.
