The Government of Canada enforces the laws that protect Canada's air, water, and natural environment, and we take pollution incidents and threats to the environment very seriously.
On October 2, 2019, TMAC Resources Inc. was ordered to pay $50,000, in the Nunavut Court of Justice, after pleading guilty to one offence under the Fisheries Act, in violation of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations. The total fine will be directed to the Government of Canada's Environmental Damages Fund.
In December 2015, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers launched an investigation, which revealed that TMAC Resources Inc. (at their Hope Bay mine site) had deposited effluent containing a deleterious substance into Doris Creek without meeting regulatory requirements. These requirements include collecting and testing samples and reporting results. The Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations authorize deposits of effluent, provided the conditions stipulated in the regulations are observed. TMAC Resources Inc. failed to meet all of these conditions and was not authorized to discharge effluent from the site.
As a result of this conviction, the company's name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has created a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current with what the Government of Canada is doing to protect our natural environment.
Quick facts
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The Metal Mining Effluent Regulations were amended in 2018 and renamed the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations.
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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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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 to support projects with positive environmental impacts.
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The Environmental Offenders Registry contains information on convictions of corporations for offences committed under certain federal environmental laws.
