Environment and Climate Change Canada wildlife enforcement officers work across the country to enforce the laws and regulations that protect and conserve wildlife and its habitat. Their work aims to reduce threats and damage to biodiversity for the benefit of Canadians and all living things.
On November 21, 2023, the municipality of Saint-Alphonse and Claude Chevalier were ordered by the Court of Québec to pay $30,000 and $6,000 respectively, at the New Carlisle Courthouse. The municipality and the individual pleaded guilty to one count each of violating the Migratory Birds Regulations under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. The charges stem from actions that led to the disturbance and destruction of Bank Swallow nests. The fines will be paid to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.
In August 2021, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers opened an investigation into the destruction of swallow nests in a sandpit operated by the municipality of Saint-Alphonse, Quebec. Officers then discovered that Claude Chevalier, a heavy machinery operator employed by the municipality, had destroyed Bank Swallow nests in July 2021, during work on the sandpit where a Bank Swallow colony was nesting. In so doing, he committed an offence under paragraph 6(a) of the Migratory Birds Regulations, punishable under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994. The municipality of Saint-Alphonse, which was ultimately responsible for carrying out the work, also committed a violation of paragraph 6(a) of the Regulations.
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