A Brampton contractor has been fined $35,000 for an incident that caused the release of natural gas on one of its sites, and forced a number of businesses to close temporarily.

The numbered company 2202564 Ontario Inc., which is also known as English Prestige Construction Management, was convicted of one violation under the Environmental Protection Act on October 28. Fines against the company were announced on December 11, and include a victim fine surcharge of $8,750.

In August 2017, the company, which provides real estate project management services with a focus on construction, was excavating a trench around a newly constructed commercial building at a plaza located on Kennedy Road in Caledon.

During the excavation, an excavator operated by an English Prestige operator struck a buried natural gas line, which resulted in a discharge of natural gas to the air.

The company contacted emergency services and the gas line owner Enbridge Gas to report the discharge. The fire department, police and Enbridge technicians responded to the incident and the gas line was shut off to perform repairs.

The gas leak resulted in the evacuation of a local child-care centre, the temporary closure of a grocery store, and gas service was disrupted for customers in the plaza while necessary repairs were performed.

Investigators from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks laid charges against the contractor which resulted in one conviction.

The fine is not the first to be levied against English Prestige Builders. In 2014, the company was fined a total of $100,000 for its role in a site accident that occurred in 2011 and that killed one worker and injured another.