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(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

CN Rail has been fined $3.2 million for causing four wildfires west of Lillooet in 2018.

The fine was dished out in May 2021, with the Ministry of Forests ordering Canadian National Railway Company to pay $3,221,196 for causing four wildfires at Anderson Lake west of Lillooet 2018.

The fine covers costs and damage to Crown timber associated with the wildfires.

The company appealed the fine arguing that it did not cause or contribute to the wildfire, and disputed the amount that it has been ordered to pay.

In a recent Forest Appeals Board decision, a third-party contractor John Hunter Co. Ltd was granted intervener status in an upcoming hearing regarding the fine and the fires.

The decision said the wildfire ignited on May 23, 2018, and wasn't extinguished until Sept. 13 that year. In total, the fire covered 483 hectares.

According to the decision, the Ministry concluded that CN Rail had caused the wildfire while its employees or contractors conducted railway maintenance earlier in the day on May 23, 2018.

"These activities allegedly included digging with an excavator, laying new rock ballast, and rock scaling... on CNR’s track," the decision said.

The issue with trains causing fires in Canada was highlighted following the fatal and devastating 2021 heat dome fires that destroyed the town of Lytton last year.

While the Transportation Safety Board concluded there was no evidence that a freight train sparked the wildfire that destroyed Lytton, a former resident who lost her home launched a lawsuit accusing the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company of causing or contributing to the wildfire that burned down the village.

In 2020, CN Rail was ordered to pay $16.6 million after a wildfire destroyed 2,255 hectares of land near Lytton in 2015.

In the recent decision, CN Rail disputed the third-party contractor John Hunter Co. should be allowed intervener status in its appeal.

"CNR says Hunter has no expertise to provide an expert opinion regarding the cause of the Wildfire, and CNR suggests that Hunter is using this appeal to develop a case and evidence in response to future court proceedings — contrary to the purpose of an application for intervener status," the decision said. "CNR submits that Hunter as a non-party should not be able to 'hijack' the appeal proceedings through its intervener application."

However, the Forest Appeals Commission rejected the rail company's argument.

"I am persuaded that Hunter’s intervention in this appeal will assist the Commission by providing potential evidence regarding the cause of the Wildfire, and it will bring a unique perspective given its activities 'on the ground' and the actions of its employees on the alleged date and location of the wildfire," the decision said. "Hunter’s witnesses can provide information about the conditions in the area that day, the nature and location of their activities, and whether those activities potentially caused the Wildfire. Hunter says it may also provide evidence in support of other potential causes of the Wildfire, and its position will diverge with respect to causes that may implicate CNR."

Along with the hefty fine, the Canadian National Railway Company also faces four charges under the Wildfire Act that include unlawfully starting a fire. The charges were laid in 2021 and the trial is set to commence in June.

A hearing regarding the $3.2 million fine – which is separate from the charges – was supposed to commence at the end of April, but as the contractor has now been allowed intervener status in the hearing, the decision said it will likely be delayed.

The wildfire fine wasn't the only steep bill CN Rail was ordered to pay last year.

Last September, Environment and Climate Change Canada fined the company $2.5-million for spraying pesticides along a rail line that runs next to the Skeena River between Terrace and Prince Rupert. The incident took place in 2017.

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