As reported in Ontario Construction News, October 18, 2019, by Robin MacLennan:
Thomas Cavanagh Construction Ltd. (TCCL) has been ordered to remove illegally dumped fill and to rehabilitate damage caused in a regulated area, after the company pleaded guilty to two charges in Ontario Court.
Charges under provincial law were for illegally placing and removing material and carrying out site grading within and adjacent to the Goulbourn PSW (Provincially Significant Wetland) Complex west of Stittsville. The pleas were entered on Sept. 18, for the ‘unlawful development’ within a provincially significant wetland (PSW).
Written permission is required from the conservation authority prior to conducting work in a regulated area. The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) is responsible for issuing permits under Ontario Regulation 153/06 which regulates development and interference within floodplains, wetlands, shorelines and watercourses.
Provincial regulations are in place to safeguard the public and development against the risks associated with naturally occurring hazards such as flooding and ensure sustainability of their ecological values and services.
With the guilty pleas, Cavanagh Construction has been ordered by the Ontario Court of Justice to clean up the area. The company was also hit with the maximum fine of $10,000 for each of the two charges.
The order also includes a donation of $50,000 in 2020 and 2021 to the Mississippi Valley Conservation Foundation – money to be used for the “conservation and protection of wetlands.”
Ken McRae comments (October 2019):
Unfortunately, judging by the [MVCA] news release [no longer online – Ed.], a conviction was only made on two of three charges against the company, with the third charge being dropped. It also appears that the two charges against Jeff Cavanagh and the three charges against Christopher Collins (a Cavanagh employee) were dropped in a plea agreement.
Sadly the significant increases in fines proposed by the Ontario government roughly a year ago for both individuals and companies has not yet come into law.
