The Government of Canada values the effective enforcement of Canada's wildlife and environmental protection laws as the foundation for sustainable conservation while supporting responsible economic prosperity and activities that respect ecosystems.
On September 14, 2026, the company Charles-Auguste Fortier Inc. was fined $75,000 by the Court of Québec. The excavation company pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Species at Risk Act. The charge stems from activities that harmed bank swallows. The fine will be paid to the Receiver General for Canada.
On May 30, 2024, an Environment and Climate Change Canada employee observed, near his workplace, grading work underway on a pile of sand where, just the day before, bank swallow burrows had been seen. The employee immediately notified the Department's enforcement officers. That same day, officers went to the site, which was used to store material for municipal work.
Environment and Climate Change Canada's investigation into this incident found that between May 29 and June 3, 2024, the company Charles-Auguste Fortier Inc. flattened the top of a pile of sand containing bank swallow burrows. The company had been informed of the requirements of the Species at Risk Act and made aware of the issue the previous year.
By harming one or more bank swallows, a wildlife species listed as threatened, the excavation company violated subsection 32(1) of the Species at Risk Act.
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