Crown wanted plea deal in Whistler bear feeding case to avoid 'controversy' over killings
CBC
There are many reasons the Crown might prefer a plea deal over a trial: sparing the court time and money; saving prosecutors from proving a case by calling witnesses; giving a remorseful defendant a chance to atone.
Avoiding public debate isn't typically one of them.
But according to court records, a B.C. Crown lawyer who prosecuted a woman fined $60,000 earlier this month for feeding bears in Whistler argued that one benefit of a joint proposal by Crown and defence for a much smaller fine was to avoid the "controversy" that might have come by airing the facts in public.
Conservation officers killed three bears —a sow and her two cubs — because of the woman's actions.
"There is a live controversy concerning the practice of euthanizing bears by the Conservation Officer Service," Crown prosecutor Nadia Farinelli told North Vancouver provincial court Judge Lyndsay Smith in submissions to defend the Crown's position last May.
"This controversy was discussed between counsel prior to the plea, and the Crown had concerns that a trial and even the sentencing hearing might be a platform to criticize the COS."
Smith ultimately rejected the $10,500 fine suggested by the Crown and defence.