Crowns take Eisner case

First private prosecution under Environment Act

by Giancarlo Cininni

After a years-long crusade against the destruction of Eisner Cove Wetland, the Crown has taken over Bill Zebedee’s lawsuit against Mount Hope Development Limited over environmental damage to the wetland.

The developer faces one count of violating the provincial Environment Act.

Zebedee’s private prosecution argued the wetland has become contaminated with siltation since construction of the new Mount Hope Village began at Eisner Cove. “The environment can’t defend itself. So I am standing up for the environment,” president of the Protect Eisner Cove Wetland society Zebedee said. “I want the developers and the property owners to realize that they can’t get away with it. They need to realize that there are people who are willing to stand up.”

The Eisner Cove wetland is a bowl surrounded by urban landscape. To the south is Highway 111, to the west condos and industrial park, and to the east Mount Hope Village sits atop a steep ravine where acres of woods once existed. From all sides, water, and whatever comes with it, flows into the wetland.

Destroying wetlands is a Canadian tradition. Approximately 70% of wetlands in southern Canada were lost before 1990—up to 98% in urban parts of the country, according to the 2025 Extent of Wetlands report from Environment and Climate Change Canada.