Industry News News Forestry Management Harvesting
Two Quebec forestry companies fined for violating the Species at Risk Act

Two Quebec forestry companies, Débroussaillage Québec and Forestière des Amériques Inc., were fined $20,000 each for violating the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog in contravention of the Species at Risk Act. The two companies pled guilty for carrying out a prohibited activity (pruning vegetation, including trees, shrubs and bushes) in a sensitive area.

More specifically, on April 23 and 24, 2018, employees of Forestière des Amériques Inc., contracted by Débroussaillage Québec, did vegetation-cutting work under high-voltage power lines. This work was done in the enforcement area of the Emergency Order in La Prairie, Que.

According to a government press release, this type of work in the enforcement area of the Emergency Order requires a permit, which the two companies did not have. The Species at Risk Act bans killing or harming a wildlife species listed as threatened and damaging or destroying that species’ habitat. The Emergency Order prohibits “removing, pruning, damaging or destroying any vegetation such as trees, shrubs or plants.”