Across the country, enforcement officers from Environment and Climate Change Canada enforce laws and regulations that ensure the protection and conservation of wildlife and its habitat. Their work aims to reduce the threats and harm caused to biodiversity.
On November 14, 2024, at the Longueuil courthouse, landscaping company 9242-6451 Québec inc. pleaded guilty to one count of violating the prohibitions set out in the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog Great Lakes / St. Lawrence-Canadian Shield Population (Longueuil), in violation of the Species at Risk Act. Patrice Poupart, the company's owner, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the same Act. The company was ordered to pay a fine of $7,500, and Poupart $5,000. The total amounts will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund and will support projects that have a positive impact on Canada's natural environments.
In the summer of 2023, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers launched an investigation after being informed of grass cutting in the area covered by the Emergency Order. They found that 9242-6451 Québec inc. and Poupart had mowed approximately 1,650 m2 of grass and driven a tractor in the protected area. In so doing, the company and its owner violated subsection 2(1) of the Emergency Order.
A violation of the provisions of an emergency order constitutes an offence under the Species at Risk Act. The Emergency Order prohibits the removal, pruning, mowing, damaging, destroying, or introducing any vegetation.It also prohibits the use of a vehicle anywhere other than on a road or paved path. The Act prohibits killing or harming a wildlife species listed as threatened, as well as damaging or destroying the residence of one or more individuals.
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