FILE PHOTO
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
November 06, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A BC man dodged a bylaw conviction over snow removal twice after prosecutors tried to appeal his acquittal.
The charge was dropped twice even though he failed to appear for both hearings. A BC Supreme Court judge dismissed the Crown's attempt to appeal on Oct. 11.
In January 2022, a Vancouver city employee was called to check on a snowy sidewalk in front of Harold Gutovich's house. The employee took four photos of the sidewalk and gave Gutovich a ticket for failing to remove the snow.
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The issue went to provincial court in May 2023, where Gutovich didn't appear for his trial. It didn't matter, because the judge wasn't convinced by the evidence.
After looking at the photos, she said the sidewalk wasn't "perfectly clear," but someone had clearly tried to shovel away some of the snow.
Lawyer for the Crown, Claire Anderson, argued snow and ice has to be cleared by 10 a.m. everyday, but the judge dug in her heels.
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"It doesn't say that," she said in the May decision. The judge went on to say the city bylaw isn't clear to what degree snow should be removed and the photos show there was some attempt already to clear it.
Anderson took the matter to Supreme Court, arguing the provincial court judge was wrong.
On Oct. 11, Justice Lauren Blake agreed with the acquittal, finding the Crown's evidence didn't prove Gutovich did anything wrong.
It was dismissed and he dodged the bylaw conviction twice, all without appearing in court.
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