Update: Ontario company and its director fined for offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

August 23, 2018 – Brampton, Ontario

On August 21, 2018, Collingwood Prime Realty Holdings Corp. and its director, Mr. Issa El-Hinn, were sentenced in the Ontario Court of Justice for offences under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 related to contraventions of the PCB Regulations.

Note: On May 12, 2020, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice allowed an appeal requested by the defendants and resentenced the corporation and Mr. El-Hinn to pay a combined penalty of $320,000. The 45-day custodial sentence was revoked. The Crown appealed this decision and on September 29, 2021, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld the original combined penalty of $420,000, which will be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund. The custodial sentence was eliminated.

The Ontario Court of Justice originally (on August 21, 2018) sentenced Mr. El-Hinn to a 45-day custodial sentence to be served on weekends. The Court also initially sentenced the corporation and Mr. El-Hinn to pay a combined penalty of $420,000 to be directed to the federal Environmental Damages Fund.

On April 30, 2015, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers launched an investigation following the company’s failure to comply with an environmental protection compliance order. The investigation revealed that two electrical transformers and eight electrical capacitors contained higher-than-allowable PCB levels and that the equipment had not been sent for destruction to an authorized facility. The defendants pleaded guilty on September 26, 2017, to ten counts of contravening the PCB Regulations made pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and one count of failing to comply with an environmental protection compliance order.

As a result of this conviction, the company’s name will be added to the Environmental Offenders Registry.

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