Nationalwide Star Canada Corp - conviction information for 2023-10-03
| Corporation name: | Nationalwide Star Canada Corp |
|---|---|
| Address: | 10 Melford Dr. Unit 1 |
| City: | Scarborough |
| Province/territory: | Ontario |
| Postal code: | M1B 2G1 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sector or industry: | 413 - Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers |
| Location of offense: | 10 Melford Dr. Unit 1, Scarborough, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Case summary: |
Between November 2016 and January 2018, five shipping containers imported into Canada were declared as containing American Eel fillets. However, an investigation conducted by wildlife enforcement officers from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) revealed that the shipments also contained European Eel meat. This determination was made through sampling and DNA analysis of the contents of all five containers. The European Eel is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and its importation into Canada requires a valid permit. No such permits were presented for these shipments, rendering the importation illegal under Canadian legislation. Based on these findings, the importer, Nationalwide Star Canada Corp., was formally charged with violating provisions of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). |
| Charges: |
Count 2 On or about January 15, 2018, at the city of Toronto, in the province of Ontario, or elsewhere in Canada, Nationalwide Star Canada Corp., did import into Canada an animal or any part or derivative of an animal listed in Schedule I of the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations, SOR/96-263 (“Regulations”), namely of the species Anguilla anguilla (commonly known as European Eel), without a permit, certificate or written authorization, as prescribed by section 6(1) of the Regulations, contrary to section 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act, S.C. 1992, c. 52 (“WAPPRIITA”), and did thereby commit an offence contrary to section 22(1) of WAPPRIITA. |
| Enforcement notification: | Nationalwide Star Canada Corp. and one individual ordered to pay a total of $250,000 in fines for illegally importing endangered European Eel meat |
| Result: | Guilty Plea |
|---|---|
| Date of conviction: | 2023-10-03 |
| Court level: | Provincial and Territorial Superior Court |
| Nature of offense(s): |
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| Additional details about the nature of the offense: | Importing or exporting animal or plant or part or derivative thereof without, or contrary to, permit – WAPPRIITA 6(2) |
| Act | Regulations | Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act | 6(2), 22(1) |
| Date of sentencing: |
2023-10-03 |
|---|---|
| Location of sentencing: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Sentence(s): |
|
| Amount of fine(s): | $175,000 |
| Sentencing details: |
On 3 October 2023, Nationalwide Star Canada Corp. appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Ontario, and entered a guilty plea under Subsection 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). The Court imposed a fine of $175,000, which was directed to the Government of Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund. Furthermore, pursuant to Subsection 19(1) of WAPPRIITA, all eel meat seized and remaining in the custody of Environment and Climate Change Canada in connection with the offence was ordered forfeited to His Majesty. |