On July 27, 2016, the Ontario Court of Justice
levied $70,000 in fines against a Hamilton company for
contravention of the federal
PCB regulations and for failing to comply with an Environmental
Protection Compliance Order, issued under the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).
Under the PCB regulations, PCBs can only be used in particular
concentrations. The conviction related to the continued use, and
failure to store or send for destruction to an authorized facility,
of equipment containing PCBs
at concentrations in excess of those permitted under the
regulations.
Of the over 100 convictions under numerous federal environmental
statutes and regulations
listed by Environment Canada on its website (dating back to
2011), only three relate to PCB infractions. Fines in the two other
cases were $50,000, for a
release of PCB contaminated oil, and $87,000,
for a PCB spill.
