The Court of Quebec has issued a $75,000 fine to an excavation company for doing grading work where a threatened species was observed. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said in a news release that on May 30, 2024, Charles-Auguste Fortier Inc. pleaded guilty to violating the Species at Risk Act “from activities that harmed bank swallows.” ECCC said that an employee observed the work on a pile of sand near his workplace and notified enforcement officers at the department. “That same day, officers went to the site, which was used to store material for municipal work,” the ECCC news release read. The investigation found that between May 29 and June 3, 2024, the company “flattened the top of a pile of sand containing bank swallow burrows. The company had been informed of the requirements of the Species at Risk Act and made aware of the issue the previous year.” Canada’s Species at Risk public registry designated the bird as threatened in 2013. “This widespread species has shown a severe long-term decline amounting to a loss of 98 per cent of its Canadian population over the last 40 years,” the registry said. “The reasons for these declines are not well understood, but are likely driven by the cumulative effects of several threats. These include loss of breeding and foraging habitat, destruction of nests during aggregate excavation, collision with vehicles, widespread pesticide use affecting prey abundance, and impacts of climate change, which may reduce survival or reproductive potential.” The $75,000 fine is expected to be paid to the Receiver General for Canada. Swallow facts
