Ontario Construction News staff
Conceptos Group Inc. and company director Juan Carlos Velazquez Ortega have been fined $40,000 for submitting false or misleading information to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
Conceptos Group Inc. was convicted in a Newmarket court of one violation under the Environmental Protection Act, fined $30,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $7,500, and given 45 days to pay.
Also, Juan Carlos Velazquez Ortega was convicted of one violation under the Environmental Protection Act, fined $10,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $2,500, and given 45 days to pay.
In October 2020, the owner of a property in Whitchurch-Stouffville contacted the ministry to report that waste had been deposited on the property without their permission by Conceptos Group Inc.
In February 2021, the ministry contacted the company to request information about the source of the deposited material and in March, Ortega responded to the ministry by email and attached an engineer’s report related to the Woodside Square Mall Project.
The ministry’s investigation revealed material at the site did not originate from the Woodside Square Mall Project and “the defendants’ email to the ministry was false and misleading,” a ministry official stated.
The ministry’s Environmental Investigations and Enforcement Branch investigated and laid charges which resulted in the convictions.