Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Annie Lake Trucking remains in ongoing contempt of a 2022 consent order requiring them to vacate City-owned lands.

• The company continued unauthorized quarrying and residency on the property despite repeated court orders and enforcement attempts.

• The consent order was clear, signed by counsel, and served, establishing actual knowledge and intentional non-compliance by the defendants.

• The City undertook extensive efforts from 2021 to 2024 to secure voluntary compliance before seeking further legal remedies.

• Evidence confirmed unauthorized extraction of materials for profit without lease or payment of royalties or fees to the City.

• The Court increased penalties, ordering a conditional fine of $7,500 per partner and reserving the right to consider imprisonment for future violations.

Facts and background of the case

Annie Lake Trucking Ltd. is a registered partnership consisting of Trevor Hunziker, Richard Hunziker, and Charlene Armstrong. The company leased land from the City of Whitehorse near Ear Lake beginning in November 2008 for the exclusive right to extract gravel, sand, stone, and to operate a concrete plant. After the lease expired, the company became a month-to-month lessee until the City terminated the lease on 30 days’ notice, effective August 23, 2021. The termination was due to the adoption of a new Official Community Plan (OCP), which no longer permitted excavation or quarrying activities on the property.

Despite the termination, Annie Lake Trucking continued quarrying activities, stored equipment on the property, and allowed individuals to reside in trailers on the land. The City issued repeated notices for the company to cease activities and vacate. When voluntary compliance was not achieved, the City filed a statement of claim on October 28, 2021, alleging breach of lease and unlawful trespass. A consent order was reached and entered on March 22, 2022, confirming lease termination and restraining Annie Lake Trucking from further commercial activity on the lands. The order required complete removal of all equipment, structures, residential tenants, and materials by June 30, 2022, and payment of any royalty and rehabilitation fees on materials extracted up to that date.

First contempt decision and post-order conduct

Site inspections by City staff in July and August 2022 revealed ongoing excavation and the presence of trailers and equipment. Annie Lake Trucking was no longer represented by counsel at that time. The City filed a civil contempt application on August 22, 2022. The company did not appear at the hearing despite being properly served. On October 13, 2022, the Court found Annie Lake Trucking in contempt and imposed fines of $2,500 on each of the three partners, ordered payment of special costs to the City, and authorized enforcement by the RCMP effective August 24, 2023.

Between October 2022 and April 2024, the City continued to inspect the lands and documented the company’s ongoing operations, including new extraction, continued equipment storage, and residential occupation. On June 23, 2023, the City met with Trevor and Richard Hunziker, who admitted to ongoing quarrying. They also submitted a letter from Charlene Armstrong stating 2,350 cubic metres of material had been removed in 2022. The City reiterated that the OCP prevented any renewal or reinstatement of the lease.

On August 23, 2023, the City notified the company and posted a letter on-site advising that the City and RCMP would attend the property on October 13, 2023, and that individuals on the land would be subject to arrest and removal. When City staff and RCMP visited on that date, they observed continued quarrying and presence of equipment and trailers. No enforcement was undertaken. Trevor Hunziker confronted City staff with abusive language, and on November 27, 2023, the City formally warned that further non-compliance could result in imprisonment.

A site inspection on March 26, 2024, revealed new piles of gravel and no meaningful change in the situation. At the hearing on December 19, 2024, Richard Hunziker appeared without filing any materials and confirmed continued non-compliance. He argued the original consent order was unfair, requested more time, and cited financial hardship. He also noted they were building a heated shop elsewhere to store equipment and proposed removal of all items by summer 2025. He stated he did not object to the removal of John Duell, a caretaker residing on the land.

Legal issues and analysis

The Court applied the legal test for civil contempt, confirming the three required elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

• the consent order clearly outlined what was required;

• the defendants had actual knowledge of the order;

• they intentionally acted in breach of the order.

The Court found that contempt was ongoing and that enforcement efforts by the City had been reasonable, extensive, and met with repeated non-compliance. Although Richard Hunziker attended the hearing and made submissions, the Court found that the order was a valid, signed consent order and had not been appealed or set aside.

Policy and enforcement implications

The Court emphasized that willful disobedience of court orders undermines the administration of justice. Annie Lake Trucking’s ongoing, unauthorized extraction of public resources without compensation was of particular concern. The Court viewed this as more than a private dispute—it implicated misuse of public land and resources and a direct challenge to the integrity of court authority.

Outcome and orders

The Court declared that Annie Lake Trucking remains in contempt of the March 22, 2022 consent order. The original $7,500 fine (total, not per partner) from the first contempt finding remains payable. If the company fails to fully vacate the property—including removal of equipment, structures, trailers, and individuals—by June 30, 2025, each partner will be fined $7,500 (a total of $22,500). The City retains the right to seek imprisonment of any or all partners if compliance is not achieved. Special costs were again awarded to the City.