Ice-making company fined $350K for Fisheries Act violation

November 9, 2018 – Surrey, British Columbia

Canadians value a safe and clean environment. Environment and Climate Change Canada’s enforcement officers work hard every day to make sure individuals and companies are respecting Canadian environmental laws.

On November 5, 2018, Arctic Glacier Canada Inc. pleaded guilty, in the Provincial Court of British Columbia, to violating subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. The company was ordered to pay a penalty of $350,000, which will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund. The company was also ordered to conduct an independent environmental audit of their facility to implement a procedure for the storage and disposal of aqueous ammonia, to train their employees on ammonia management, and to upgrade as necessary their ammonia-based refrigeration system and related exhaust systems.

On April 30, 2014, Environment and Climate Change Canada received a dangerous goods incident report regarding dead fish in an unnamed creek near the Golden Ears Bridge in the City of Surrey. Two Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers conducted an investigation into what caused the fish kill. The investigation concluded that the ammonia solution purged from equipment in Arctic Glacier’s facility ended up in the City of Surrey’s storm sewer system, which outflows into the unnamed creek. Water samples taken near the Arctic Glacier facility and the storm sewer system were found to be harmful to fish.

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