Ontario property owner and contractor fined $157K for damaging threatened bird habitat

A property owner and a demolition contractor in Parry Sound, Ont., have been ordered to pay more than $157,000 after work at an abandoned hospital site damaged habitat used by threatened chimney swifts.

Marble Arch Corporation and contractor Adam Watson were convicted under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act for harm done to the birds’ habitat during demolition work in 2020, according to a provincial court bulletin .

The charges relate to a property of the abandoned St. Joseph’s Hospital, which closed in 2005. Part of what remained of the hospital included a two-storey brick building with a cylindrical chimney. The large brick chimney had become an important roosting site for chimney swifts during their annual migration.

Chimney swifts are listed as a threatened species in Ontario and rely heavily on vertical structures like large brick chimneys for nesting and communal roosting during migration. Large chimneys are considered especially important because suitable roosting structures are becoming harder to find, making existing sites “critical habitat for the species.”

The bulletin notes the birds had been using the chimney from May to September for many years, with sometimes hundreds observed entering the structure. According to Ontario SwiftWatch , chimney swifts have declined across Canada, with population down about 90 per cent since 1970.

In 2019, after concerns were raised about the deteriorating buildings, Marble Arch hired an engineer who recommended demolition. The company then retained Watson to carry out the work, which was scheduled for spring and summer of 2020.

Both Marble Arch and Watson were aware the chimney was being used by chimney swifts and that approval under the Endangered Species Act might be required before any work that could affect their birds or their habitat.

While the Town of Parry Sound issued a demolition permit allowing the demolition of the building, the chimney itself was excluded. No provincial authorization under the Endangered Species Act was obtained before demolition began.

In early June 2020, Watson demolished the building that supported the base of the chimney, leaving the chimney standing but exposing a large hole near its base. Within weeks, the number of chimney swifts using the structure dropped to zero for the rest of the season.

The hole remained uncovered until September 2020, significantly damaging the chimney’s function as a habitat. Since the demolition, only small numbers of birds have been observed using the structure.

Both Marble Arch and Watson were convicted in October 2025. As part of sentencing, the court ordered Marble Arch to pay $107,499, and Watson $50,000 to Birds Canada to support the recovery and protection of the chimney swift.

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