The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health, safety, and environment of Canadians. Environment and Climate Change Canada enforces several laws that protect Canada's air, water, and natural environment, and takes pollution incidents and threats to the environment very seriously.
On February 11, 2025, Daniel Chayer, a Quebec resident and driver for a transport company, was ordered by the Court of Québec to pay a total fine of $35,000. Chayer pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Fisheries Act and one count of violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The fine 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 environment.
The conviction stems from a fuel spill on January 4, 2021. Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers launched an investigation after being notified of a fuel spill at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Canada's service centre in Dorval, Quebec. The investigation determined that, during a fuel delivery, Chayer transferred over 20,000 litres of regular gasoline into a 5,000-litre gasoline trap. This incident resulted in the discharge of approximately 15,000 litres of gasoline into the site's storm-drainage system, eventually reaching the fish-bearing waters of Bouchard Creek, which flow into Lake Saint-Louis. Enforcement officers determined that the incident occurred due to a lack of diligence when delivering.
Depositing a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish, or in any place where the substance may enter any such water, is a violation of the Fisheries Act. In addition, it is an offence under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 to transfer petroleum products to a storage tank system covered by the Storage Tank Systems for Petroleum Products and Allied Petroleum Products Regulations when the storage tank system's identification number is not visible.
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