Caledon illegal trucking operator hit with $1M fine

An illegal trucking and contracting facility in Caledon is staring down a $1 million fine for breaking town zoning bylaws.

Darzi Holdings Ltd. was hit with the fine after the Ontario Superior Court found the company in contempt of court, the town said in a release.

The town says the case goes back to 2018 and Darzi Holdings illegally parking commercial vehicles and contracting equipment at a property on Coleraine Dr.

There were also complaints of debris, mud tracking, and importation of fill and grading without a permit.

The property owner pleaded guilty in 2019 to breaching Caledon’s zoning bylaw and was fined $36,000 in penalties.

But when the owner failed to bring the property into compliance, the town pursued a civil injunction.

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Darzi Holdings was found in contempt of court on Thursday, and Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson called the  $1 million fine “a huge victory.”

With similar incidents with illegal trucking companies on the rise across Caledon, Thompson said the ruling will send a message to others violating town bylaws.

“It’s also a win for all the legal operators in the Town who have invested over the years to build legitimate, competitive businesses,” Thompson said. “They want a level playing field, and we will continue to go after those who try to sidestep our by-laws.”

Last month, Brampton residents fed up with noise and dust from an alleged illegal trucking yards across the road in Caledon asked the Region of Peel to help cover the cost of noise walls in the area.

Caledon Councillor Johanna Downey said there were some 200 illegal yards operating in her ward alone, and while she supports the logistics industry “it’s very difficult to support operators that have a complete disregard to our municipal bylaws.”

Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish called the alleged illegal yards “bad actors” and urged residents to organize protests the illegal operations.