The Ville de Longueuil (the city of Longueuil) ordered to pay $30,000 for damaging or destroying at least one bobolink nest

June 12, 2025 – Longueuil, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada

On June 12, 2025, the Court of Quebec ordered the Ville de Longueuil to pay a fine of $30,000. The Ville de Longueuil pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Species at Risk Act. The charge stems from mowing that damaged or destroyed at least one bobolink nest. The fine will be directed to the Receiver General for Canada.

On July 10, 2024, Environment and Climate Change Canada received a report from an individual indicating that a bobolink nesting site had been destroyed during mowing in the Parc des Sorbiers municipal park in Longueuil. The Department's enforcement officers subsequently launched an investigation, which determined that the Ville de Longueuil was responsible for the mowing carried out on July 9, 2024, which damaged or destroyed at least one bobolink nest. In so doing, the Ville de Longueuil violated section 33 of the Species at Risk Act.

Quick facts

• The bobolink is a migratory bird that nests primarily in hayfields and meadows. It can also be found in meadow marshes, grassy peatlands, and abandoned fields composed mainly of tall grasses. Females build nests on the ground. Each nest has three to seven eggs.
• Over 25% of the world's bobolink population breeds in Canada. The population declined sharply in the 1980s and 1990s. Its decline continued thereafter, but more slowly.
• In Canada, the bobolink, its nests, and its eggs are protected under the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022, pursuant to the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. The species is listed as threatened in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act. It is also protected under the Act and various provincial laws.
• Anyone with information on wildlife crime (poaching, smuggling, trafficking, etc.) can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477, or for Quebec residents, call 1‑800‑711‑1800.

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