Guy St-Julien
Progressive Conservative
Mr. Guy Saint-Julien (Abitibi):
Madam Speaker, in the hardest penalty ever handed down in Canada on an
environmental case, Mr. Justice Paul A. Belanger of the Quebec court in Sorel yesterday sentenced the Tioxide Company of Tracy to pay $4 million for dumping heavy metals and sulfuric acid in the St. Lawrence River. Three million dollars of this will be used for fish habitat restoration projects and the other million dollars is a fine.
Mr. Justice Paul A. Belanger's decision follows the guilty plea made by Tioxide and five of its directors named in a complaint filed in October 1992 by Environment Canada. The message for corporate directors is very clear: The only way to protect yourself from such situations is prevention.
On behalf of Canadians, I wish to thank Mr. Justice Paul A. Belanger and to say how much I respect him for his ruling.
Subtopic: STATEMENTS PURSUANT TO S. O. 31
Sub-subtopic: THE ENVIRONMENT