Construction Demathieu & Bard (CDB) Inc. fined $650,000 for violating the Fisheries Act in Quebec

November 18, 2025 – Montréal, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On November 17, 2025, in the Court of Québec, Montréal, Construction Demathieu & Bard (CDB) Inc. (doing business as Réfection PIAT S.E.P.) pleaded guilty to one count of depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, a violation of the Fisheries Act. The company was fined $650,000. The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and used to support projects that have a positive impact on Canada’s natural environment.

On November 28, 2024, Quebec’s Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs informed Environment and Climate Change Canada that a spill of water containing concrete, with elevated pH levels, had occurred two days earlier in the Lac des Deux Montagnes. Following an investigation, our enforcement officers determined that this spill had occurred during restoration work on the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge in Senneville.

Water with elevated levels of pH is deleterious to fish. Normally, water used during the installation of concrete structures should be treated to neutralize its pH before being deposited. However, our officers discovered that the treatment system was not functioning optimally, resulting in the deposit of rinse water with elevated pH levels of over 12 into the Lac des Deux Montagnes. By depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, Construction Demathieu & Bard (CDB) Inc. contravened a prohibition set out in subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.

As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.

Quick facts

• Environment and Climate Change Canada administers and enforces the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act. These provisions include a prohibition against the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish, or in a place where they may enter water frequented by fish.
• The waters of the Lac des Deux Montagnes are frequented by fish, as defined in the Fisheries Act. They contain a variety of fish species, including bass, walleye, sturgeon, and yellow perch.
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Fund directs monies received from fines, penalties, court orders, and voluntary payments to projects that will repair environmental damage or benefit the environment. The Fund aims to invest in areas where environmental damage occurred.

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