Whitehorse man charged under Wildlife Act for alleged failure to clean up cooking oil, garbage near Burwash

A Whitehorse man previously fined for leaving used cooking oil outside at two properties a situation that ultimately led conservation officers to euthanize three food-habituated bears is facing a new set of wildlife and waste charges.

Joszef Suska is facing one count under the territorial Wildlife Act of failing to comply with a dangerous wildlife protection order near Burwash Landing, Yukon, last July.

He's also facing three charges under the Yukon's special waste and solid waste regulations for allegedly improperly handling waste oil and improperly disposing of solid waste near the community between February and July 2022, as well as transferring special waste in Whitehorse to somewhere other than a permitted management facility.

Suska was scheduled to make a first appearance on the charges in Whitehorse Territorial Court Tuesday but had a friend appear on his behalf due to vehicle issues.

In an email, Environment Yukon spokesperson Chantelle Rivest confirmed Suska was issued two dangerous wildlife protection orders related to a property nearBurwash, the requirements of which included "directing the removal and clean-up of used cooking oil, garbage contained in vehicles on the property, and to remove other attractants found on public lands adjacent to the property in question."

"Under the Wildlife Act, conservation officers may issue a Dangerous Wildlife Protection Order if food attractants, such as garbage, pose a significant safety risk by drawing bears to public areas," Rivest wrote.

The allegations are similar to ones Suska ultimately admitted to in Whitehorse three years ago, though Rivest noted that "the violations occurred at a different time and location and are considered unrelated."

Suska, in 2020, pleaded guilty on behalf of himself and his company to five charges under the Yukon's environment and wildlife acts for storing hundreds of containers of used cooking oil outside at a junkyard and home in Whitehorse's McRae subdivision.

The containers were not secured and bears began feeding on them. Conservation officers euthanized three black bears at the junkyard that were regularly using the oil as a food source and relocated one grizzly sow and her cub from the property.

Testifying during the 2021 trial of his co-accused in the case, Michele Palma, Suska told the court he'd collected the oil so he could convert it into biofuel and had "more important things to do than to remove the oil right away" when ordered to do so by conservation officers.

He also testified that he ran a "messy operation" and had oil stored at 10 different locations.

Suska and his company were fined $65,000 in that case and were also ordered to clean up one of the properties. However, he neither paid the fine nor cleaned up the property in time; the Yukon government filed a lawsuit against him to recoup the fines and the cost of the clean-up $450,000 plus interest last year. Suska never responded to the lawsuit and a judge awarded the government a default judgment for $527,669.

Suska's next court appearance on the newcharges is scheduled for next week.