Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc. (Canadian Corporation No. 1609314-1) - conviction information for 2026-07-07
| Corporation name: | Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc. (Canadian Corporation No. 1609314-1) |
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| Address: | 510 Bryne Drive, Unit A |
| City: | Barrie |
| Province/territory: | Ontario |
| Postal code: | L4N 9P6 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Sector or industry: | 321 - Wood product manufacturing |
| Location of offense: | 6630 Tomken Road, Mississauga, Ontario |
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| Case summary: |
Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc., located in Barrie, Ontario, imports and sells billiards-related products. The company imported 119 billiard table legs from India that were made from rosewood (Dalbergia spp.), a wood species protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), without the permits required under Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA).
In February 2025, the shipment arrived in Canada and was later intercepted by the Canada Border Services Agency in Mississauga, where Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) Wildlife Enforcement Directorate (WED) officers inspected it. WED Officers found 119 exotic wood table legs and detained the shipment after determining that the required CITES documentation was not available.
Laboratory analysis of 20 wood samples taken from the shipment confirmed that the table legs were made from rosewood (Dalbergia spp.). The shipment contained approximately 1,422 kg (1.4 tonnes) of rosewood, with each table leg weighing more than 10 kg, making the shipment ineligible for a permit exemption. Upon conviction of the company, the court ordered that all of the rosewood table legs were subsequently forfeited to the Crown.
The investigation helped ensure that international trade in CITES-listed timber species remains controlled, legal, and sustainable, supporting the protection of species vulnerable to overexploitation. |
| Charges: |
Count # 1 DREAM BILLIARDS SPORTS BAR AND EATERY INC. (Canadian Corporation No. 1609314-1) between October 1, 2024, and February 14, 2025, both dates inclusive, in the city of Mississauga in the Province of Ontario, and elsewhere in Canada, and in the country of India and elsewhere in the world, did unlawfully import a part of a plant, to wit, genus Dalbergia, into Canada, contrary to subsection 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act, S.C. 1992, c.52. |
| Enforcement notification: | Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc. fined $25,000 for illegally importing items made from protected wood species |
| Result: | Guilty Plea |
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| Date of conviction: | 2026-07-07 |
| Court level: | Provincial and Territorial Court |
| Nature of offense(s): |
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| Additional details about the nature of the offense: |
| Act | Regulations | Section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act | WAPPRIITA - Section(s) | 6 (2) |
| Date of sentencing: |
2026-07-07 |
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| Location of sentencing: | Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ontario |
| Sentence(s): |
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| Amount of fine(s): | $25,000 |
| Sentencing details: |
On the 7th day of July 2026, before the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ontario, the corporation Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc. pleaded guilty to one count of importing a CITES-listed plant product, namely rosewood (Dalbergia spp.), without the permit required under subsection 6(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). The corporation was sentenced to pay a fine of $25,000, with the entire amount directed to the Government's Canada Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).
In determining the appropriate sentence, the Court considered as aggravating factors that the offense involved the importation of 119 rosewood billiard table legs containing approximately 1,422 kilograms of CITES-regulated rosewood, imported without either a Canadian CITES Import Permit or a foreign CITES Export Permit. The Court also considered the importance of maintaining the integrity of international controls governing trade in protected species and combating illegal timber trade.
As mitigating factors, the Court considered that Dream Billiards Sports Bar and Eatery Inc. was a small-revenue corporation, had no prior history of non-compliance with WAPPRIITA or related regulations, and accepted responsibility by entering a guilty plea, thereby avoiding the need for a trial. The company had commenced operations only shortly before the offense occurred.
In addition to the monetary penalty, the 119 rosewood billiard table legs were forfeited to the Crown. The sentence was imposed to promote compliance with Canada's wildlife trade legislation, deter future violations, and reinforce the requirement that international trade in CITES-listed timber products be conducted legally and with the appropriate permits. |