Montreal, Quebec
In April 2002, the results of an 18-month investigation by EBI revealed that dangerous chemicals from Montreal’s Technoparc site were fouling the St. Lawrence River on a daily basis. In a brief submitted to Environment Canada, EBI furnished photographic proof, laboratory analyses of samples, expert assessments, and maps clearly identifying discharge points. The brief prompted Environment Canada to launch an investigation of its own that same month. In April 2003, Environment Canada terminated its investigation, claiming that it was unable to pinpoint the precise source of the toxins being released into the river.
Four months later, EBI and four other environmental organizations turned to the Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC), an environmental watchdog set up by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States. In 2008, after a detailed investigation, the CEC released a “factual record” documenting the pollution from the Technoparc site and the federal government’s failure to enforce its environmental laws against Montreal.
Introduction and case summary
Original EBI report
– Biologist’s report
– Field notes
– Photos
Correspondence
News releases
News coverage
Commission on Environmental Cooperation’s Factual Record
Moncton, New Brunswick
Environment Canada laid charges in winter 2002 against the City of Moncton and related engineers for allowing a city landfill site to contaminate the Petitcodiac River. The Environment Canada investigation was launched as a result of a brief prepared by EBI and the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper.
Environmental Bureau of Investigation 