Commercial Litigation

Earlier this month, an Alberta-based mining company, Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC, pleaded guilty to two counts under the Fisheries Act. The charges related to a dike failure that occurred in October 2013. The dike was used to contain a large volume of waste water containing coal, clay, …

On May 15, 2017, 228057 Ontario Inc. (formerly Naylor Renewable Energy Inc.) pled guilty to three offences and was fined $600,000 plus the 25 per cent victim fine surcharge for discharging sediment-laden stormwater causing the impairment water quality, failing to notify the Ministry of the E…

The Storm Lake Times, a small family-run Iowa newspaper, won a 2017 Pulitzer Price award for its coverage of issues associated with farm pollution from local agricultural companies and the failure of the County to control the agricultural runoff in the area. The Storm Lake Times covered how …

Aecon Construction and Materials Limited (“Aecon”) is in the business of constructing complex highway infrastructure, airfields projects, residential and commercial developments, landfills,  and bridges in addition to other large infrastructure projects. On February 8, 2017 Aecon pled guilty…

On December 20, 2016, Tidan Inc. and seven of its associated companies (“Tidan Group”) pled guilty to 52 charges under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (“CEPA”) relating to the improper management of PCB-containing electrical equipment and were fined $975,000. As part of its convict…

On January 9, 2016 following convictions under the Fisheries Act in 2015, three companies were fined $2.2 million in a B.C. Provincial Court, for offences dating back to October 2010. The fines were imposed under the former Fisheries Act provisions for the “harmful alteration, destruction an…

Valero Energy Inc., the owner of the Lévis, Quebec-based Jean-Gaulin Refinery, has received a $500,000 fine for violating the Fisheries Act. Reportedly, in 2008, the company accidentally released some 200,000 litres of heavy fuel oil into a stream that flows into the Saint-Lawrence River. En…

Last December, the Hudson’s Bay Company was fined for a large release of PCBs into the St. Lawrence River in 2011. The release involved 146 kg of PCBs, exceeding the permitted amount by 146,000 times, though it was estimated that 48 kg were discharged into the St. Lawrence. On December 7, 20…

Due diligence is an extremely important concept in environmental regulation and compliance. When properly done, it provides a defence to regulatory charges or, at least, can mitigate the amount of fines imposed. Environmental due diligence is primarily a proactive activity. It involves takin…

Last August, we reported on recent case law dealing with the difficult question of how to determine limitation periods in environmental claims. In the January 2017 Court of Appeal decision of Crombie Property Holdings Limited v. McColl-Frontenac Inc., the court overturned the trial court’s d…