Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Chad Klassen

LAKE ACCESS BATTLE

Club still seeking clarity over access to Stoney and Minnie Lakes

Jul 31, 2019 | 5:14 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — The gates are open and the public is fishing in Stoney Lake. The Supreme Court ruled in December that Stoney and Minnie Lakes near Merritt are public.

“Each individual person can come here, as long as they fish on land they declared as public,” said Rick McGowan from the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club. “That’s what we’re here to show that this is the public place to put your boat in.”

However, the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club contends that where the public can and can’t go is unclear. Some of the language in the ruling and court orders, the club says, is also vague.

As an example, one of the court orders states that “fishing in Stoney Lake by non-Aboriginal fishers is limited to fishing with a device that a person or persons can carry, such as a belly boat or canoe.”

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Club member Ed Hendricks says as it reads, that particular order is restrictive to how the public can fish.

“[Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves] turned around and made rules that prohibit us, really, in our minds, it makes us wonder if we do have access to these lakes,” said Hendricks. “I don’t have a belly boat or canoe, and I’m not going to pack my boat a half a mile down a three-foot trail when the road goes right beside the lake.”

For the first time since the court battle began in 2012, Vice President of the Douglas Lake Cattle Company Joe Gardner spoke publicly. In his mind, there are no ambiguities. Supreme Court Justice Joel Groves ruled the gates be unlocked, which they are, and public access to be granted to the lakes. He feels it’s pretty straight forward.

“It’s quite clear in here that access to Minnie Lake is via what the judge declared a public trail. It goes from very close to the gate down to Minnie Lake,” said Gardner. “It’s quite the hike, but that’s how he decided there would be public access to the lake.”

Gardner says the club is disregarding some of the orders already.

“For example, they wanted a boat ramp and the ability to drive down the road to Minnie Lake and the judge did not grant that order, so they went ahead and did it anyhow,” he said.

McGowan and the club contend the roads leading into both lakes are public and people should be able to access them without issue. The club is cross-appealing to get some of those wishes granted by the courts.

“We need it determined where the public can actually get to the lake, and we’re stating that this right here is where the public road goes right into Stoney Lake, so this is a public access,” said McGowan.