SUDBURY, Ont. — Environment Canada and the RCMP raided one of Vale SA's Sudbury, Ont., offices Thursday as part of an investigation into the company's alleged violation of the Fisheries Act in 2012.
The two agencies were executing a search warrant as part of an active Environment Canada investigation that started in November 2012, said Environment Canada spokeswoman Natalie Huneault.
"The investigation relates to alleged violations of the general prohibition in the Fisheries Act, which prohibits the deposit of substances that are deleterious to fish into water frequented by fish," Huneault said in an email.
Emily Robb, a spokeswoman for the global mining giant, said in an email that the company co-operated with the investigation and provided the information required.
Both Huneault and Robb declined to provide further details about the alleged violations because they are under investigation, but Robb said the company believes it was not in the wrong.
"The matter under investigation never posed a threat to health and safety in our community," she said.
"When the issue that is presently the subject of investigation was discovered in 2012, in communication with government regulators, Vale immediately undertook measures to address it. We believed then, and believe now, that our actions were appropriate and responsible."
She said the investigation has had no impact on the company's operations.
Vale has had a string of safety issues at its Sudbury operations in recent years, including a 2011 incident at its Stobie mine where two workers died, a 2012 incident at its Coleman mine where one worker died, and a 2014 incident at its Copper Cliff facility where one worker died and another was seriously injured.
The company was fined $1.05 million related to the 2011 incident and numerous charged were laid in March related to last year's incident.
In August the Copper Cliff facility released toxic nitrogen dioxide into the air, prompting the company to warn local residents to remain inside with their windows shut.
The Canadian Press
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