Update: Ontario company and its director fined for offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

Brampton, Ontario – August 23, 2018 – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On August 21, 2018, Collingwood Prime Realty Holdings Corp. and its director, Mr. Issa El-Hinn, were sentenced in the Ontario Court of Justice for offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 related to contraventions of the PCB Regulations.

Note: On May 12, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice allowed an appeal requested by the defendants and resentenced the corporation and Mr. El-Hinn to pay a combined penalty of $320,000. The 45-day custodial sentence was revoked. The Crown appealed this decision and on September 29, 2021, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the original combined penalty of $420,000, which will be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund. The custodial sentence was eliminated.

The Ontario Court of Justice originally (on August 21, 2018) sentenced Mr. El-Hinn to a 45-day custodial sentence to be served on weekends. The Court also initially sentenced the corporation and Mr. El-Hinn to pay a combined penalty of $420,000 to be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund.

On April 30, 2015, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers launched an investigation following the company’s failure to comply with an environmental protection compliance order. The investigation revealed that two electrical transformers and eight electrical capacitors contained higher-than-allowable PCB levels and that the equipment had not been sent for destruction to an authorized facility. The defendants pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to ten counts of contravening the PCB Regulations made pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and one count of failing to comply with an environmental protection compliance order.

As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has created a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current with what the Government of Canada is doing to protect our natural environment.

Quick facts

• PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are toxic industrial chemical substances that are harmful to aquatic ecosystems and species that feed primarily on aquatic organisms.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers strive to ensure that businesses and individuals comply with federal laws and regulations that protect the natural environment and its biodiversity.
• The Environmental Offenders Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.
• An environmental protection compliance order is an order that enforcement officers can issue to stop a violation of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999; prevent a violation from occurring in the first place; or require an action be taken to correct a violation.

Associated links

• Canadian Environmental Protection Act Registry
• Environmental Offenders Registry
• Environmental Damages Fund

Contacts

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Environment and Climate Change Canada
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media@ec.gc.ca