Swift River Energy Ltd. will make a financial donation to the Bala Cranberry Festival.
That’s the outcome of a settlement between the Township of Muskoka Lakes, CRT Construction and Swift River.
The decision was made after reviewing the matter with the Prosecutor in Provincial Offenses Court in Bracebridge.
Swift River Energy Ltd, its President and CRT Construction faced charges after the Township said they broke the Township noise bylaw back in 2018 at the Bala Falls location where a new power plant was built – something that Swift River denied.
Muskoka Lakes Mayor Phil Harding says the settlement is a win for both Bala and Muskoka Lakes.
“Based on the terms of the lease and the 2016 By-law, understanding the fulsome nature of the charges as well as CRT Construction and Swift River’s legal rights, I believe the Prosecutor in this case truly protected our residents with the settlement requirement for Swift River to make a financial donation to the Bala Cranberry Festival,” said Harding via a Township release.
Factors considered by the Prosecutor and Township in reaching the decision included the complexity and time involved in prosecuting the charges, the changing availability of the evidence necessary to obtain a conviction and the uncertainty around the size of the fines which would be levied in the event convictions were obtained.
As reported, the issue was first raised in December 2018 – Swift River says it was hoping to wrap-up lake bed excavations before Christmas so everyone could enjoy a quiet holiday. The company believed it had the right to do so, because of a by-law exemption.
“This is a small but important victory for tax payers,” says Nhung Nguyen VP of Development at Swift River. “Instead of clogging up the justice system and consuming valuable municipal time and resources, we’re building good will, saving money that would have been spent on lawyers and giving it to a local charity.”
All parties are in agreement and the file is now closed.
(Photo of Bala Falls via Muskoka 411)
Swift River settles complaint with Township, donates to charity https://t.co/hllFLVclBe
— SwiftRiverEnergyLtd (@BalaFallsHydro) May 29, 2020
