Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 756 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by levelWhat for?
by topic- Waste and hazardous substances €66m 100 % · 7 cases
- no topic €50,119 0 % · 3 cases
Who?
by sectorAll sectors
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 1 | €67,236 |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | €1.36m |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | €18,979 |
| Q3 2025 | 1 | €6,238 |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | €24,745 |
| Q1 2026 | 2 | €1.31m |
| Q2 2026 | 2 | €62.5m |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €747,710 |
10 cases
15 May 2026 ArcelorMittal Exploitation Minière Canada s.e.n.c.ArcelorMittal mining subsidiary in Québec: 100 million CAD fine for acidic mine effluent €62.5m
From May 2014 to May 2022, acidic effluent, effluent with elevated zinc, nickel or suspended solids content, and effluent that was acutely lethal to fish entered fish-bearing waters from the Mont-Wright mining complex and the Fire Lake mine in the Fermont region. The company pleaded guilty to 100 counts; the fine of 100 million CAD goes almost entirely to the Environmental Damages Fund, and an action plan on wastewater management must also be submitted by mid-February 2027.
Long-standing exceedances of limit values add up to hundreds of individual offences; effluent monitoring must lead to immediate corrective action.
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Steel and metals
- Published
- 15 May 2026
Original amount 100,000,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 15 May 2026.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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10 Sep 2026 Algoma Steel Inc.Algoma Steel: 1.2 million CAD fine for gear oil in the St. Marys River €747,710
In June 2022, a gear oil tank overflowed at the steelworks in Sault Ste. Marie; an estimated 1,000 to 1,250 litres of oil entered the St. Marys River, harmful to fish and migratory birds. The company pleaded guilty to two counts and is paying 1.2 million CAD into the Environmental Damages Fund; its name is listed in the Environmental Offenders Registry.
Even small tank overflows near watercourses lead to fines in the millions – overfill protection and containment systems are mandatory.
Filling and monitoring oil tanks
- Authority / court
- Ontario Court of Justice, Sault Ste. Marie (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3); Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, Subsection 5.1(1)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Steel and metals
- Mitigating circumstances
- Guilty plea.
- Published
- 11 Sep 2026
Original amount 1,200,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 10 Sep 2026.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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8 May 2026 Transport Desgagnés Inc.Transport Desgagnés: 40,000 CAD because a tanker entered an Arctic protected area without a permit €24,902
The tanker M/T Sarah Desgagnés, operated by the company, entered the Akpait National Wildlife Area in Nunavut on 29 September and 6 October 2024 without the required access permit. The Nunavut Court of Justice imposed 40,000 CAD for the Environmental Damages Fund; the company must publish a notice in a local newspaper and is listed in the Environmental Offenders Registry.
Protected area boundaries belong in every vessel's voyage planning; missing access permits are prosecuted even in remote areas.
Protected areas in voyage planning and bridge practice
- Authority / court
- Nunavut Court of Justice (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability
- Legal basis
- Wildlife Area Regulations (Canada Wildlife Act), Paragraph 3.3(1)(h)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Transport, logistics and shipping
- Published
- 8 May 2026
Original amount 40,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 8 May 2026.
- Transport Desgagnés Inc. fined $40,000 for Canada Wildlife Act violations in Nunavut Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 Jan 2026 Estee Lauder Cosmetics Ltd.Estee Lauder Cosmetics: 750,000 CAD fine for unreported PFAS in eyeliners €463,765
A routine inspection in 2023 found that the company was selling eyeliners containing the PFAS substance perfluorononyl dimethicone without submitting the required notification of a ‘significant new activity’; a subsequent compliance order was not complied with. The court imposed 750,000 CAD; the company must inform its shareholders and is listed in the Environmental Offenders Registry.
Product development and regulatory affairs must check new substances for notification requirements before market launch; regulatory orders must be implemented within the deadline.
Chemical notification and approval obligations for product launches
- Authority / court
- Ontario Court of Justice (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (Significant New Activity, Compliance Order)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Chemicals and pharmaceuticals
- Published
- 2 Feb 2026
Original amount 750,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 13 Jan 2026.
- Estee Lauder Cosmetics Ltd. fined $750,000 for violating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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7 Jan 2026 Superior General Partner Inc.Superior General Partner: 1.35 million CAD fine for sodium chlorite in river and late reporting €845,987
In 2019, as a result of an equipment defect, sodium chlorite entered the Rivière du Lièvre twelve times from the ERCO Mondial chemical plant in Gatineau; in the last incident, the authorities were only informed after five days. The company was fined 1.35 million CAD, and the then technical and environmental director 15,000 CAD.
Reporting obligations for releases of substances apply immediately; those who wait for days incur additional liability – including personally as the person responsible.
Immediate reporting of environmental incidents to the authorities
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Fisheries Act (Einbringen schädlicher Stoffe; unterlassene sofortige Meldung)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Chemicals and pharmaceuticals
- Liability of senior managers
- Jean-François Roux, the plant's then technical and environmental director, was personally fined 15,000 CAD.
- Published
- 8 Jan 2026
Original amount 1,365,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 7 Jan 2026.
- Superior General Partner Inc. and one individual fined a total of $1,365,000 for violating the Fisheries Act Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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17 Dec 2025 Beausite Métal inc.Beausite Métal: 40,000 CAD because PCB equipment was not disposed of despite an order €24,745
The metal recycler in Val-des-Sources had received an environmental protection compliance order to dispose of and destroy PCB-contaminated equipment. At a follow-up inspection in May 2024, the equipment was still on the site; the company pleaded guilty under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) and was fined 40,000 CAD.
Regulatory orders need an owner and a date in the calendar – non-compliance is a separate offence.
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Anklage: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Steel and metals
- Published
- 18 Dec 2025
Original amount 40,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 17 Dec 2025.
- Beausite Métal inc. fined $40,000 for failing to comply with an environmental protection compliance order Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jul 2025 Department of National Defence (Kanada)Canada's Department of National Defence pays 10,000 CAD for destroyed hawk nest €6,238
During fence removal work at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, heavy machinery destroyed an occupied nest of the protected ferruginous hawk together with three eggs. The Department of National Defence pleaded guilty to two counts under the Species at Risk Act and was fined 10,000 CAD.
Construction and dismantling work on military land also requires a prior species protection assessment and briefed machine operators.
Species protection during construction work
- Authority / court
- Alberta Court of Justice (Anklage: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability
- Legal basis
- Species at Risk Act, s. 32(1) und s. 33
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Defence and security
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Published
- 30 Jul 2025
Original amount 10,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 Jul 2025.
- Department of National Defence fined $10,000 for violating the Species at Risk Act in Alberta Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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12 Jun 2025 Ville de LongueuilCity of Longueuil pays 30,000 CAD for mowing that destroyed a protected bird's nest €18,979
During mowing work in the municipal Parc des Sorbiers in July 2024, at least one nest of the protected bobolink was destroyed; a citizen reported the find. The city pleaded guilty under the Species at Risk Act and is paying 30,000 CAD.
Maintenance plans for green spaces must take into account the breeding seasons of protected species, and the teams carrying out the work must be briefed accordingly.
Species protection in green space maintenance
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Anklage: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability
- Legal basis
- Species at Risk Act, s. 33
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Public sector
- Published
- 12 Jun 2025
Original amount 30,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 12 Jun 2025.
- The Ville de Longueuil ordered to pay $30,000 for damaging or destroying at least one bobolink nest Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 Jan 2025 Rio Tinto Fer et Titane inc.Rio Tinto Fer et Titane: 2 million CAD fine for nickel-bearing and acidic mine effluent €1.36m
At the Lac Tio mine near Havre-Saint-Pierre, there were nickel exceedances in 2023 after severed power cables disabled the effluent treatment, untreated acidic discharges in the summer, and a failure to take samples after an unauthorised discharge. The company pleaded guilty to eight counts and is paying 2 million CAD into the Environmental Damages Fund.
Failures of effluent treatment must be covered by emergency plans and documented through the required sampling.
Sampling and monitoring obligations after malfunctions
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Fisheries Act, Subsection 36(3); Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Steel and metals
- Mitigating circumstances
- Guilty plea.
- Published
- 14 Jan 2025
Original amount 2,000,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 13 Jan 2025.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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18 Nov 2024 ArcelorMittal Exploitation Minière Canada s.e.n.c.ArcelorMittal mining subsidiary: 100,000 CAD fine for obstructing environmental inspectors €67,236
During inspections of the Mont-Wright mining complex in June 2022, environmental inspectors requested documents on compliance with effluent regulations; the company refused to hand over some of them until September 2022. The court imposed 100,000 CAD for obstructing the inspection and ordered the documents to be produced (separate proceedings alongside the later fine of 100 million CAD).
Refusing to hand over requested documents is itself an offence – employees must know how to deal with information requests from inspectors.
Cooperation and production of documents during regulatory inspections
- Authority / court
- Court of Québec (Ermittlungen: Environment and Climate Change Canada)
- Area of law
- Environment and sustainability · Waste and hazardous substances
- Legal basis
- Fisheries Act, Section 62 (Behinderung von Kontrollbeamten); Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Steel and metals
- Culpability
- intentional
- Published
- 19 Nov 2024
Original amount 100,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 18 Nov 2024.
- ArcelorMittal Exploitation Minière Canada s.e.n.c. ordered to pay $100,000 for obstructing enforcement officers Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link