Canac-Marquis Grenier Ltée fined $40,000 for Species at Risk Act violation

November 25, 2022 – Longueuil, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada

Strong and effective enforcement of Canada’s environmental and wildlife protection laws is one of the concrete ways in which the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to the conservation of wildlife and its habitat.

On November 24, 2022, at the Longueuil courthouse, Canac-Marquis Grenier Ltée pleaded guilty to one count of violating the prohibitions under the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence — Canadian Shield Population) and the Species at Risk Act. The company was ordered to pay a $40,000 fine to the Receiver General for Canada.

On March 23, 2022, during a routine patrol, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s wildlife enforcement officers observed snowbanks containing various debris in the geographic area of the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence — Canadian Shield population), in the municipality of La Prairie. The investigation revealed that between December 21, 2021, and March 23, 2022, Canac-Marquis Grenier Ltée had blown snow from the lumber yard of its La Prairie branch into the western chorus frog habitat protected by the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog.

A violation of the provisions of an emergency order constitutes an offence under the Species at Risk Act. The Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog prohibits the depositing, discharging, dumping, or immersing of any material or substance, including snow, within the enforcement area of the order. The Species at Risk Act prohibits killing or harming a wildlife species that is listed as threatened and the damaging or destroying of its habitat.

Quick facts

• The Great Lakes / St. Lawrence — Canadian Shield population of the western chorus frog has been listed as threatened in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act since 2010.
• On June 22, 2016, the Government of Canada announced an emergency order to protect the western chorus frog in the municipalities of La Prairie, Candiac, and Saint-Philippe, near Montréal, Quebec. The Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog’s enforcement area is approximately 2 km² of partially developed land, a portion of which includes land that is part of Smitter's Marsh Conservation Park.
• The prohibitions set out in the Emergency Order aim to prevent the degradation or loss of habitat needed by the western chorus frog for its recovery and to prevent activities that could harm the species.

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