File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

B.C. Provincial Court

Former Merritt-area MLA’s suit against province over weed control dismissed

Oct 25, 2022 | 3:21 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — A former Interior MLA has lost his bid to sue the province’s attorney general and forests ministry in B.C. Provincial Court.

David Chutter represented Yale-Lillooet for one term beginning in 2001, when his B.C. Liberals nearly swept the NDP off the political map, winning 77 of 79 seats. He chose not to run in the 2005 election, and the seat was won by former NDP highways minister Harry Lali.

Chutter, whose family owns and operates a cattle ranch just outside of Merritt, brought the suit forward in 2021, saying spotted knapweed had migrated onto his land from the adjacent Crown-held land. He claimed the province was negligent and caused a nuisance by failing to take measures to stop the invasive plant’s spread.

Chutter’s suit sought nearly $29,000 compensation for aerial spraying and feed replacement.

In ruling for the province, Justice Roy Dickey said he did not find Chutter’s argument persuasive that the province’s weed control efforts on the Crown land were inadequate.

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To read the full ruling, click here.