On October 19, 2020, Breakwater Resources Limited, which operates the Langlois Mine, pleaded guilty in the Val d'Or courthouse to one count of violating the Fisheries Act. The company was fined $350,000, which will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.
On February 28, 2018, a 500-litre spill of flocculent from the Langlois mining site in Lebel sur Quévillon resulted in a discharge of acutely lethal effluent into the Wedding River. The discharge of acutely lethal effluent into water frequented by fish is a violation of subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.
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Quick facts
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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.
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Environment and Climate Change Canada administers the Environmental Damages Fund, which is a Government of Canada program that was created in 1995. The Fund follows the polluter pays principle and ensures that court awarded penalties are used for projects that will benefit the environment.
