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ARTICLE · 20 APRIL 2015

Directors Of Real Estate Agent Liable For Contaminated Site?

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How far can no-fault liability for contaminated sites go?

CanadaEnvironment
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How far can no-fault liability for contaminated sites go? The Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has issued a cleanup order to (among others) the accountant who held a power of attorney to sell a contaminated site for an overseas client, and the directors of a real estate company that listed the property for sale.

In McQuiston v. Ontario (MOECC), and a series of related cases now before the Environmental Review Tribunal, solvents were found in a roadside ditch that drains into a local watercourse and into Lake Erie. Ministry staff decided that the solvents came from a disused industrial site, at 833 Helena Street in Fort Erie. A long term tenant had vacated the site last fall and the property owner had put it up for sale. As the property owner's sole remaining director lived in England, he gave a power of attorney to an Ontario accountant to manage the sale. The accountant signed a listing agreement with a local broker, who set up a lockbox containing

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