Court junks $350 fine over sale of scrap to undercover London bylaw officer

The owner of a London scrap yard says he feels vindicated that a justice of the peace threw out a $350 fine after his company paid $5 for scrap metal from a City of London bylaw enforcement officer working undercover. 

"It's good to see that the system works," said Charlie Gelinas, owner of Specialized Recycling Inc.

At issue was whether or not the bylaw enforcement officer — who was dressed in grubby clothing and pushing a shopping cart when he sold the scrap — was asked to show identification. 

The city's business licensing bylaw prohibits licensed scrap operators from buying from customers "without first verifying their identity." The bylaw is intended to curb the trade in stolen metals such as copper and aluminum. 

The court heard the bylaw officer, posing as a customer, sold Specialized some copper cable and a metal light fixture in January 2020. There was contradictory evidence about whether or not the bylaw officer was asked to show identification. He told the court he gave a false name and address but was never asked to produce ID.

The employee said when the man told him he didn't have ID he took pity on him based on his appearance and decided to make the buy anyway. He said he used his discretion, given that the material was worth a paltry amount. 

"The material was of no consequence," Gelinas told CBC News. "It was nothing that would raise any alarm bells in terms of a theft concern." 

Enforcement blitz notice

The bylaw officer returned four days after the transaction to issue the company an offence notice. The sale happened shortly after the city had sent out a notice to all licensed scrap yard operators, informing them about an increased enforcement blitz as the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles had become an increasing problem. 

Orest Katolyk, the city's head of bylaw enforcement, told the court the bylaw "is interpreted" as requiring operators to as for identification from scrap sellers. The court also heard that Katolyk had prepared a report to a city committee recommending amendments to the bylaw that would clarify this and "identify the types of acceptable identification." 

After his company was charged, Gelinas pleaded not guilty and refused to pay the fine. 

In her decision, Justice of the Peace Kristine Diaz pointed to Specialized's lack of past bylaw convictions and accepted that the company had performed its due diligence in trying to verify the buyer's identity. 

"The bylaw is silent on how identity is to be verified, and in the absence of that fact, reasonable steps were indeed taken to comply with the bylaw as it stands," Diaz wrote in her decision. "This charge is dismissed." 

Diaz also rejected a suggestion, raised by Gelinas, that the bylaw enforcement officer's actions amounted to entrapment. 

And while he's happy with the decision, Gelinas says it raises serious issues about the conduct of the city's bylaw department. 

"There was never any basis for the charges," he said.

Gelinas also says the city should use an approach focused more on collaboration and less on enforcement to curtail the trade in stolen metals. 

"Saying 'There's the problem, how do we work together to solve it?' Is a much better approach than the way that they've handled it," he said.

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, Katolyk said the city is working with scrap yard operators to improve the identification verification process. 

"The current regulations have regard for privacy legislation as well as the principles of the Business Licensing Bylaw," his statement said. "Civic Administration remains concerned with metal theft, including catalytic converters, in our community. The outcome of the consultations may lead to strengthened bylaw regulations."