Montreal-area company fined $40,000 for dumping snow in western chorus frog habitat

The Western/Striped Chorus Frog has declined throughout the St. Lawrence Valley in Quebec as a result of habitat loss. SOURCE: Nature Watch Canada

A Montreal-area company has been fined $40,000 for violating the Species at Risk Act, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced Friday.

The Canac-Marquis Grenier hardware and building supplies chain pleaded guilty to one count of violating prohibitions under the Emergency Order for the Protection of the Western Chorus Frog.

According to ECCC, the investigation began in March after inspectors discovered piles of snow containing various debris in the area in La Prairie, in Quebec's Montérégie region.

Investigators were able to determine that the company had blown snow from the lumber yard of its La Prairie branch into the habitat of the western chorus frog.

The area, covered by the order since 2016, covers two square kilometers on Montreal's South Shore.

It's the second emergency order of its kind announced since the Endangered Species Act was passed in 2002.

The western chorus frog, with an average size of 2.5 cm, is one of the smallest frog species in Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 26, 2022.