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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife man's decision to illegally cut wood to heat his home after a power outage caused his furnace to go wonky has landed him in hot water.

The resident, who represented himself while on trial in territorial court Nov. 29, was fined $115 after Judge Garth Malakoe rejected his claim that he had no other option but to harvest wood illegally because the Environment and Natural Resources office was closed Saturday, Sept. 15, when his house was without heat and he needed a permit for the wood.

People require a timber cutting permit, which are free, before cutting down any trees. According to the Forest Management Act, there are exceptions to the permit rule, providing that not having any wood for heat "would result in danger to human life or safety."

The middle-aged man, wearing a white striped shirt and black pants, said he has been cutting wood for the past 10 to 12 years, but didn't think it was "economical to buy $300 of wood" from a commercial supplier and only needed a small amount since his furnace would be fixed the next week.

"I know the law. I make arrangements to go and cut wood," the accused said.

The man explained that on the evening of Sept. 12 there was a power outage in the city and he was having trouble turning his oil furnace back on. On Friday, Sept. 14, he said he was told his furnace could not be looked at until the next week. He had some wood but on the Saturday he said he realized he didn't have enough to get him through the weekend so he drove out on Highway 3 in his pick-up truck with his chainsaw and cut down four trees - enough for two fires, he said.

On his way back into the city, he was stopped at a joint check stop within city limits being administered by officers with the RCMP, the Department of Environment of Natural Resources, municipal enforcement and Environment Canada, who were looking for any impaired driving, hunting or timber violations.

The offender was pulled over by a forest management officer who testified at the trial that the man had about a half a cord of timber in the back of his truck and didn't have a permit.

According to the officer, as of April 2012, the free timber cutting permits are now valid up until March 31 no matter when the permit is issued. Previously it was only good for three months. The accused said if he had known that, he would have obtained his wood permit April 1 when he buys his fishing licence.

He said he usually doesn't get a permit to cut wood for the winter until October.

Crown prosecutor Roger Shepard said the accused ought to have known it was a possibility he could have run out of wood.

"This is not a case of necessity," Shepard said.

It was the man's admission that he knew he was harvesting wood illegally that Malakoe said was "a detriment" to his case.

"I have sympathy for what happened, but in the end ... it was a decision that was made ... he took a chance," said Malakoe.

"I see the logic behind what you did, but you did break the law."

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