{"id":460708,"date":"2026-05-26T11:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/460708\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:45:09","slug":"mining-giant-polluted-quebec-waters-for-over-a-decade-before-100m-fine-what-took-so-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/460708\/","title":{"rendered":"Mining giant polluted Quebec waters for over a decade before $100M fine. What took so long?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A $100-million fine against a global mining giant for contaminating water in Quebec’s C\u00f4te-Nord marks the highest-ever infraction of its kind<\/a>, but experts say the settlement with the federal government also shows the immense challenges in regulating the country’s mining sector.<\/p>\n

Court documents state that ArcelorMittal “illegally immersed, discharged, or permitted the immersion or discharge of a harmful substance” into vulnerable, fish-bearing waters surrounding its mining operations near Fermont, Que., between 2014 and 2022.<\/p>\n

The company pleaded guilty to 100 counts of violating the federal Fisheries Act, and will pay a $1-million fine for each count, most of which will go toward the Environmental Damages Fund.<\/p>\n

Experts say the case illustrates the difficulty in overseeing Canadian mines and ensuring their compliance with government regulations, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to fast-track critical minerals projects across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of fines are sort of like reactionary measures,\u201d said Sara Ghebremusse, an assistant professor who specializes in mining governance at the University of British Columbia\u2019s Allard School of Law.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresumably, this type of pollution should not have happened in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Infractions dating back to 2011<\/p>\n

The Mont-Wright mine, which has been in operation since the 1970s, covers 24 square kilometres, making it the largest open-pit iron mine in Canada, according to the company.<\/p>\n

Documents show ArcelorMittal has a record of non-compliance at the site.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the mining giant was ordered to pay $15 million for infractions between 2011 and 2013.<\/p>\n

During the course of that investigation, officials found deposits of toxic substances had been released into the watershed. The company was also found guilty of having made \u201cfalse and misleading statements\u201d to federal environmental officers.<\/p>\n

\u00c9mile Cloutier-Brassard, who monitors mining companies for the environmental group Eau Secours, said news of the settlement left him with mixed emotions \u2014 somewhere between \u201cthe happiness of seeing the government doing its job,\u201d and \u201cthe fact that the fine remains kind of small in regard to the profit of the company.”<\/p>\n

In 2025 alone, the Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal generated $61 billion US in revenue globally, with $3.15 billion US in profits.<\/p>\n

LISTEN | An environmentalist on the settlement:<\/p>\n

Quebec AM8:40Quebec mining company fined $100 million for releasing harmful substances into fish-bearing waters in North-Shore region<\/p>\n

ArcelorMittal pleaded guilty to 100 counts under the Fisheries Act, and is being ordered to pay $1 million for each – in what the Public Prosecution Service of Canada says is the harshest fine ever imposed under the Act. \u00c9mile Cloutier-Brassard, responsible for mining files for Eau Secours, talks about the implications of the ruling.Protecting the Moisie River<\/p>\n

The charges in the most recent case relate to the \u201cdeposits of deleterious substances\u201d by the Mont-Wright mining complex, as well as the nearby Fire Lake mine, into \u201cseveral streams and lakes\u201d in the Fermont region, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.<\/p>\n

These streams and lakes ultimately connect to the Moisie River, a vital spawning area for Atlantic salmon in the ancestral territory of the Innu Nation.<\/p>\n

Known in Innu-aimun as \u201cMishta-shipu,\u201d or \u201cThe Great River,\u201d the river has been the focus of a sovereign conservation push.<\/p>\n

Last year, Chief Jonathan Shetush and the Innu Council of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam (ITUM) formed the Mishta-shipu Watershed Protected Area \u2014 the first Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in Quebec.<\/p>\n

The initiative was launched in an attempt to shield the land from industrial degradation and protect local wildlife.<\/p>\n

ITUM said ArcelorMittal’s recent $100-million fine underscores why the community is fighting for the long-term conservation of the watershed.<\/p>\n

“The corrective measures put in place by ArcelorMittal must guarantee that such discharges will not happen again,” Shetush said in a statement, adding that the community intends to work closely with the federal Environmental Damages Fund to ensure a significant portion of the fine is devoted to the area.<\/p>\n

The court also ordered the mining company to reimburse the cost of the investigation, nearly $250,000, and produce an environmental plan by February 2027.<\/p>\n

Sarah Seck, an associate professor specializing in environmental law at Dalhousie University\u2019s Schulich School of Law, said \u201cenvironmental vigilance takes time.\u201d Usually, the government tries to get a company to fall in line before pursuing prosecution, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really does take a big effort for these things to come to court, which goes to the importance of having enough in budgets to make sure compliance and prosecution are well-funded,\u201d Seck said in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a fast-tracking mentality going on, it can’t also come at a time of cutting of budgets for compliance and enforcement because companies don’t always comply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ghebremusse said the federal government has in place regulations to \u201cprevent events like this from happening.”<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if the regulations fail, then you wonder, where are the shortcomings in the regulatory process?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"profileUashat mak Mani-utenam Chief Jonathan Shetush formed the Mishta-shipu Watershed Protected Area last year in an attempt to protect the river. (B\u00e9n\u00e9dicte Filippi\/Radio-Canada)Company says it\u2019s committed to improvement<\/p>\n

ArcelorMittal said it has already invested in infrastructure to improve the situation on site, including a water treatment facility. <\/p>\n

The company said in a statement it has invested more than $400 million in \u201clong-term water control and treatment infrastructure to address operational and environmental water challenges both on site and in the surrounding areas.\u201d Those improvements were completed in 2023, the company said.<\/p>\n

In an email response to CBC, ArcelorMittal spokesperson Annie Par\u00e9 acknowledged the settlement was to some extent \u201ca continuation of the previous issues between 2011 and 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developing and building large-scale infrastructure at the site is a \u201ccomplex, expensive, and time-consuming process,\u201d Par\u00e9 said, citing the remoteness of the area, harsh weather and labour challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project must also address the legacy and environmental history of a 52-year-old mine site, while navigating extensive regulatory and permitting approval processes,\u201d Par\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now focused on the future and demonstrating to our stakeholders, including local communities, that protecting the environment is a priority for us, with the settlement marking the end of this issue.\u201d <\/p>\n

WATCH | Carney visits Quebec graphite mine project:\"\"<\/p>\n

Carney breaks ground on graphite mine in Northern Quebec<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney broke ground for what is slated to be the largest graphite mine in the G7. Carney spoke during a downpour outside of Nouveau Monde Graphite\u2019s future Matawinie Mine in Quebec.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A $100-million fine against a global mining giant for contaminating water in Quebec’s C\u00f4te-Nord marks the highest-ever infraction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-460708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}