Fisheries Act violation results in $150K fine for Northwest Territories business

HAY RIVER, NT, Nov. 28, 2019 /CNW/ - Canadians value a safe and clean environment. Environment and Climate Change Canada's enforcement officers strive to ensure that businesses and individuals comply with the laws and regulations administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, which protect Canada's natural environment.

On November 27, 2019, a guilty plea was entered on behalf of Hay River Mobile Home Park Ltd., in Hay River Territorial Court, in response to a charge of violating subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. The company was fined $150,000, which will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.

In October 2016, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers responded to a report from the Northwest Territories 24-Hour Spill Report Line that a fuel sheen had been observed on the Hay River. An investigation determined that a fuel truck parked on Hay River Mobile Home Park Ltd. property had released a diesel/water mixture, over a 20-hour period, onto land adjacent to the Hay River. An undetermined amount of the mixture then entered the Hay River, which is home to a variety of fish species, including walleye, whitefish, and northern pike. 

As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

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Quick facts

• Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, which prohibit the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish.
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund follows the polluter pays principle and ensures that court-awarded penalties are used to support projects with positive environmental impacts.
• The Environmental Offenders Registry contains information on convictions of corporations for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.

Associated links

• Fisheries Act
• Environmental Offenders Registry
• Environmental Damages Fund

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

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