Toronto mining company must pay penalty for Fisheries Act violation near Baker Lake, Nunavut

May 5, 2017 - Iqaluit, Nunavut - Environment and Climate Change Canada

On May 1, 2017, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited pleaded guilty, in the Nunavut Court of Justice, to one offence under the Fisheries Act. The court ordered the company to pay a total penalty of $50,000, which will be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund. As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

In August 2013, an inspection at the Meadowbank Gold Mine revealed seepage from the tailings impoundment area into an area immediately next to a fish-bearing waterbody. The release had not been reported to an Environment and Climate Change Canada inspector or to the territorial spill line. Following an investigation by the Department’s enforcement officers, the company was charged, and it subsequently pleaded guilty to a violation of subsection 38(4) of the Fisheries Act--failing to notify an inspector following the unauthorized deposit of a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish.

Quick facts 

• Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the pollution-prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, which prohibit the deposit of deleterious substances into water frequented by fish.
• Created in 1995, the Environmental Damages Fund is a Government of Canada program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The fund follows the polluter pays principle and ensures that court-awarded penalties are used for projects with positive environmental impacts.

Associated links 

Fisheries Act

Environmental Damages Fund

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