Parks Canada has recovered fossils including Burgress Shale from an individual in Quebec.
Fossils recovered by Parks Canada as part of the investigation. Photo Credit: Parks Canada
According to the news release, an investigation involving Parks Canada wardens, the RCMP, the Longueuil Police Department, and the Royal Ontario Museum has resulted in the recovery of 45 fossils, a $20,000 fine and five months of house arrest.
Parks Canada says they received a tip regarding fossil removal from the Burgess Shale from Kootenay National Park in 2020. The investigation by Parks Canada was followed by a search warrant at a private residence in Montreal executed by the Longueuil Police Department, La Mauricie National Park wardens and the Québec Waterways wardens recovered 45 fossils.
Experts from Royal Ontario Museum identified that the fossils were removed from Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper national parks and the majority of the fossils originated from the Burgess Shale Marble Canyon Quarry in Kootenay National Park. Marble Canyon Quarry is not currently accessible to the public.
The person responsible pleaded guilty at the Cranbrook British Columbia Provincial Court to two offences under the Canada National Parks Act and National Park General Regulations of removing natural objects and unlawfully trafficking fossils.
The individual was fined $20,000, the largest fine that has been levied to date for the removal of fossils from the Burgess Shale. The person also had to forfeit 45 fossils and was issued a five-month conditional sentence order which included a curfew order.
The money from the fine will go to the Environmental Damages Fund and be used to support projects that restore nature and conserve wildlife and habitats.
The Burgess Shale, a UNESCO world heritage site, is widely recognized as one of the most significant fossil sites in the world and contains fossil evidence of some of the earliest complex animals that existed in the oceans of our planet over 505 million years ago.