Bill Boyd’s environmental violation case set over to Nov. 7

He was once the minister of economy and a founding member of the Saskatchewan Party. Now, Bill Boyd has become the subject of scrutiny for months – if not years.

From the GTH land deal to misrepresenting the provincial government overseas, the latest accusations to be levelled against Boyd are four environmental violations.

READ MORE: Conflict of Interest Commissioner will not launch a GTH inquiry

The charges came to light in late August, and Boyd was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday at Kindersley provincial court.

Instead, Boyd didn’t attend the court proceeding and opted to send his lawyer, R.J. Ard, instead.

“I have no idea how he’s feeling and he didn’t appear because there was no necessity to appear.”

What was revealed in a single court document was the timing of the alleged incidents near Eston, Sask.

The first charge stems from between April 1 and May 3 of this year and involves cultivating wildlife habitat.

The other three charges are in connection to alleged activity between June 15 and July 15 of this year, in which Boyd is accused of altering shoreline, adding or removing material from or near a body of water and removing vegetation from a body of water.

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What makes this case unusual is these types of charges rarely make headlines but because it involves Boyd, the province issued a news release on Aug. 30 because it felt the public had a right to know.

READ MORE: Kindersley mayor glad Bill Boyd resigned, looking to the future

The senior Crown prosecutor told Global News that the one charge under the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act is uncommon because of the type of land involved and that Boyd could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Boyd’s lawyer would not disclose to media outside of court if Boyd intends to plead guilty and there was some discussion inside the courtroom of resolving the matter before returning to court on Nov. 7.