Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers strive to ensure that businesses and the public comply with the acts and regulations designed to protect Canada's natural environment.
On December 17, 2025, in the Court of Québec, Beausite Métal inc. pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The company was fined $40,000. The fine will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.
The offence relates to a failure to comply with an environmental protection compliance order, which required the company to implement corrective measures to comply with the Act and its PCB Regulations. In addition to the fine, the Court ordered Beausite Métal inc. to implement a series of measures aimed at restoring compliance.
On May 4, 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers inspected the site operated by Beausite Métal inc., located in Val-des-Sources, Quebec, to verify compliance with the PCB Regulations. They found unused equipment, including electrical transformers, pole-top electrical transformers, capacitors, and ballasts containing PCBs in concentrations exceeding the 50 mg/kg limit allowed by the Regulations. On July 25, 2022, enforcement officers issued an environmental protection compliance order that ordered, among other things, the disposal and destruction of PCB-contaminated equipment within a specified deadline.
However, Beausite Métal inc. challenged the order issued by the enforcement officers before the Environmental Protection Tribunal of Canada. The Tribunal confirmed the order on October 11, 2023.
Enforcement officers visited the site between May 22 and May 24, 2024, and found that some of the measures required in the order had not been followed. The equipment to be disposed of and destroyed was still on site. Failure to comply with an environmental protection compliance order is a violation of subsection 238(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry. The Registry contains information on convictions of corporations registered for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.
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