A Quebec property management company has been fined $5,000 for violating the Species at Risk Act

June 30, 2023 – Longueuil, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada

 On June 29, 2023, at the Longueuil Courthouse, 9125-3534 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), contrary to the Species at Risk Act. The company was fined $5,000, which will be paid to the Receiver General for Canada.

In December 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s wildlife enforcement officers responded to a report of a vehicle dumping soil and gravel in Longueuil in the area where the Emergency Order applies. At the scene, officers could see traces of a vehicle that had been driving in the area protected by the Emergency Order.

The investigation revealed that 9125-3534 Québec Inc. was the owner of the vehicle that had been driven through the Western Chorus Frog habitat. In so doing, it contravened section 2(1) of the Emergency Order.

Contravening the provisions of an emergency order is an offence under the Species at Risk Act. The Emergency Order prohibits the use of any vehicle other than on paved roads or paths. The Act prohibits the killing or harming of a wildlife species listed as threatened, and the damaging or destroying of the residence of one or more individuals.

Quick facts

• The Great Lakes / St. Lawrence – Canadian Shield population of the Western Chorus Frog has been listed as threatened on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act since 2010.
• On November 20, 2021, the Emergency Order to protect the Western Chorus Frog came into effect in the municipality of Longueuil, Quebec. The area covered by the Order corresponds to approximately 20 hectares of land encompassing the Béliveau Boulevard extension and the area of potential residential subdivision development.
• The prohibitions set out in the Emergency Order are intended to prevent the degradation or loss of habitat needed by the Western Chorus Frog for its recovery and to prevent activities that could harm it.

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