Canada: Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment has reportedly imposed fines totalling US$105,000 on Saint Marys Cement for air and water pollution breaches at its cement plant in Port-Daniel on the Gaspé Peninsula, according to newspaper Le Soleil. The violations relate to incidents recorded in 2020 and 2021. According to the ministry, checks carried out in February 2022 using company-supplied data found repeated breaches of permitted limits with respect to air and water pollution. Effluent from the plant’s sedimentation basin reportedly surpassed the authorised threshold of 30mg per litre of suspended matter on four occasions across the two years. In total, six instances were identified where monitored substances exceeded standards set out in the plant’s ministerial operating authorisation. Saint Marys Cement received a notice of non-compliance in March 2022. The notice required the company to take immediate corrective action to meet regulatory standards.
Similar shortcomings were also recorded in water-related data for the same period. In response to ongoing dust emission concerns, the ministry also issued a formal order in September 2022. Ghizlaine Behdaoui, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, said "In order to ensure a rapid intervention in the face of the ongoing problem of dust emissions, in addition to criminal proceedings, the Ministry issued an order on 15 September 2022. We can confirm that since the issuance of the Minister's order until today [20 January 2026], according to the checks and inspections carried out, the company is complying with the requirements of the order."
Company spokesperson Justin Meloche said that the fines have been paid, and that the company has since invested more than US$65m to improve plant operations, including upgrades to inspection and maintenance practices and the implementation of corrective measures.