Saint John — On Monday at 9:30 a.m., a nearly packed courtroom heard a suspenseful volley between a Crown prosecutor and a defence lawyer for Irving Pulp and Paper comparing each other’s schedules.
Judge Marco Cloutier asked for both sides to search in the meantime for a workable bracket of 6 consecutive weeks for a trial to take place.
It is alleged that between June 2014 and August 2016, J.K. Irving dipped his balls into the St. John River ‘at least 15 times,’ violating the Canadian Fisheries Act. Irving has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
After being blocked access to New Brunswick Conservation officers for several minutes, The Manatee eventually gained an interview under the condition that the officer’s name not be released.
“Tea-bagging in our waters is never OK,” said the officer. “Tea-bagging to such an extent has, we believe, had a deleterious effect on the local ecosystem.”
The hashtags #IrvingonTrial and #deleterious began trending on Twitter while court was in session.
The Irving family is said to employ 1 of every 12 New Brunswick residents. It has been speculated that this may dissuade New Brunswickers from attending provincial court on Feb. 23 or from following the events in the news.
Editors with the Telegraph-Journal, owned by the Irving family, would not comment on how they plan to cover the proceedings.
The Manatee acquired a courtroom sketch artist, 10-year-old Alex Mills, to assist in coverage. The Manatee remains the only news outlet, real or otherwise, to provide an inside visual component to the Jan. 30 proceedings.