Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

fined

Victoria Gold fined $95K for violating mining licences in Yukon

Victoria Gold fined $95K for violating mining licences in Yukon

The Victoria Gold Corp. has been fined $95,000 after pleading guilty to violating some of its licence conditions at the Eagle gold mine near Mayo, Yukon. The company was charged by the territorial government in June. The company was accused of failing to maintain minimum water storage requirements at the mine site. The government alleged Victoria Gold stored more water in its heap leach facility than its licence allows. It also said Victoria Gold failed to report the amount of water it transferred every month.

Hibernia fined $400K for 2019 oil spill off N.L.

Hibernia fined $400K for 2019 oil spill off N.L.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) announced Wednesday that Hiberia will pay $400,000 in fines as the result of a 2019 oil spill on the Hibernia platform. The spill happened on July 17, 2019, when approximately 12,000 litres of crude oil mixed with water was released from the platform into the Atlantic Ocean. Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. said at the time the discharge was likely caused by a sensor issue and called it an isolated incident.

Keller Foundations Ltd. fined $1 million for depositing harmful concrete leachate into groundwater that flowed into Larson Creek, British Columbia

Keller Foundations Ltd. fined $1 million for depositing harmful concrete leachate into groundwater that flowed into Larson Creek, British Columbia

Canadians value clean water and a sustainable environment. Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers work to verify that businesses and individuals comply with laws and regulations that protect Canada's natural environment. On March 17, 2023, in the Provincial Court of British Columbia, Keller Foundations Ltd. was ordered to pay a total penalty of $1 million after pleading guilty to one charge laid for violations of subsection 36(3) of the federal Fisheries Act. The charge stemmed from an investigation into the deaths of approximately 85 Cutthroat Trout in Larson Creek in West Vancouver. 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.

Waste Management, contractor fined after intentional leachate spill at Napanee's Richmond Landfill Author of the article:

Waste Management, contractor fined after intentional leachate spill at Napanee's Richmond Landfill Author of the article:

Waste Management of Canada Corp. and a local septic pumping service have been convicted and fined for failing to report an intentional landfill leachate spill at the closed Richmond Landfill site in Napanee. On Jan. 14, 2020, the waste management company directed a driver with Sutcliffe Septic Services Ltd. to dump a truckload of approximately 13,000 litres of leachate fluid into a wooded area at the site, after the driver was concerned the vehicle would become stuck in a field on its way to the landfill’s temporary leachate storage lagoon.

De Beers fined $350,000 over diesel spill at Snap Lake

De Beers fined $350,000 over diesel spill at Snap Lake

Environment and Climate Change Canada, heralding Monday’s sentence, said the money will be placed in a fund that supports “projects that benefit the natural environment.” De Beers was charged under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, a prosecution considered significant as one of the first since the act’s regulations were amended in 2020.

Company charged over deaths of dozens of fish in West Vancouver creek

Company charged over deaths of dozens of fish in West Vancouver creek

Four years after an incident that killed 76 cutthroat trout in a West Vancouver stream, a contractor that was working for the Ministry of Transportation is facing charges under the Federal Fisheries Act. Keller Foundations Ltd. has been charged with two counts of depositing a deleterious substance in connection to the April 30, 2018, fish deaths. John Barker was president of West Vancouver Streamkeepers at the time, which helps develop and maintain best practices for protecting stream habitat. He said he was shocked to see the dead fish littering the banks of Larson Creek, near Gleneagles Golf Course.

Companies fined after beaver dam removal floods Nesslin Lake in northern Sask.

Companies fined after beaver dam removal floods Nesslin Lake in northern Sask.

Two forestry companies and a contractor have been fined for their roles in 2019 road repairs gone wrong that led to flooding in a northern Saskatchewan lake, the province says. A track hoe was used to remove a beaver dam during road repairs in July 2019 near Nesslin Lake, about 200 kilometres north of Saskatoon, the province said in a Friday news release. Water and other sediment leaked into a creek before flowing south into the lake, causing water levels to rise quickly and resulting in flooding.

Two Abbotsford mushroom farms fined $650K for polluting local creeks

Two Abbotsford mushroom farms fined $650K for polluting local creeks

Two Abbotsford mushroom farms owned by the same man have been ordered to pay $650,000 in fines for polluting local creeks. H.Q. Mushroom Farm received fines totalling $385,000 for two counts of depositing a deleterious substance in October 2015 and April 2016. Delfresh Mushroom Farm has been fined $265,000 for the same two counts in August and November 2018.

Mill acts on long-awaited water treatment facility

Mill acts on long-awaited water treatment facility

A multimillion-dollar water treatment facility is expected to come to the west side pulp and paper mill five years after its owner Irving Pulp & Paper, Limited was fined for environmental violations. More than $150 million worth of environmental upgrades were announced by Irving Pulp & Paper, Limited this week. The proposed upgrades include a new environmental treatment facility, as well as a cooling water heat exchanger and pumphouse closer to the mill.

Coastal GasLink Faces More Water Pollution Concerns

Coastal GasLink Faces More Water Pollution Concerns

Coastal GasLink is facing more criticism over water-quality concerns as a result of construction on its 670-kilometre pipeline through northern B.C., this time in the western portion of the route near Kitimat. On Feb. 19, the company received an order from B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office for allowing sediment to flow into a watercourse where its pipeline right-of-way crosses the South Hirsch Forest Service Road, just east of Kitimat. The order requiring the company to prevent sediment-laden water from entering watercourse comes days after the company was fined $72,500 for similar violations that have repeatedly been identified along the pipeline route.

Nova Scotia mining company fined for environmental charges

Nova Scotia mining company fined for environmental charges

Atlantic Mining NS Inc., the subsidiary of an Australian gold mining company, has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay an additional $240,000 in financial penalties after pleading guilty to federal and provincial environmental charges relating to its gold mining operations on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. Judge Alanna Murphy imposed the penalties Friday afternoon in Nova Scotia provincial court a week after lawyers outlined a plea arrangement to end the case.

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