A numbered company has been fined $50,000 after federal environmental enforcement officers discovered the “intentional” release of 2,000 litres of hydrocarbons from an underground storage tank into Taylor-Massey Creek.
The company, 11204572 Canada Corporation, pleaded guilty in the Provincial Court of Ontario, in Toronto, to one charge of depositing a deleterious substance into water frequented by fish, in contravention of the federal Fisheries Act.
According to a federal enforcement notification from Environment and Climate change Canada, officers responded to a complaint about potential deposits into the creek during construction activities and arrived at the company’s property in Scarborough, Ontario, on December 28, 2020. The property is adjacent to the 16-kilometre-long Taylor-Massey Creek, a tributary of the Don River.
Laboratory testing of the hydrocarbons found in the creek determined that the substance was deleterious to fish. The creek is home to species such as Creek Chub, White Sucker, and Longnose Dace.
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On September 17, 2024, the company was convicted under subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
As a result of the conviction, the numbered company will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.
