Environmental Enforcement Officer

Jason Kent

There was never a "magic moment,” as Jason Kent calls it, when he decided to be an environmental enforcement officer. He always enjoyed hunting, fishing, and growing up in the vast wilderness of the Yukon. "Knowing I could spend time in the field doing the things that I enjoy set me in this career direction.” Today, with an applied degree in environmental management, Jason is an environmental enforcement officer with Environment Canada.

His job is about more than catching people abusing the environment, "It’s about making sure people take what they’re entitled to and leave the environment the way they found it, so everybody can enjoy it. It’s more about protecting rather than enforcing.” Each Environment Canada enforcement officer is assigned a specific area of responsibility. Jason is responsible for inspecting pulp and paper mills. When he’s in the field, he can be found inspecting mills, discussing infractions with management, or taking samples of the mill’s effluent to ensure they meet government environmental standards.

Jason loves interacting with the different groups of people and learning about new technology when touring facilities. "This is a job where you’re learning as you go. I don’t think you could ever know this job inside and out.” Back at the office, Jason spends his time sorting through technical reports and writing up environmental infractions. "I’m so busy with incidents and paperwork and database entry and tracking…I don’t spend nearly as much time in the field as I’d like.”

Another responsibility that takes away from Jason’s field time is regularly attending training sessions. But with the federal government constantly issuing amendments and new environmental regulations, this training is critical. Jason admits there’s a lot of responsibility with his job. Indeed, the workload can be overwhelming at times. "I’d like to spend five hours on every file I get, really investigating the ins and the outs, but you have to take into consideration the amount of work you have to do.” No matter how busy he gets, Jason’s primary goal remains the same: "I just want to make sure people appreciate the land like it should be appreciated. It’s my job to make sure that happens.”