Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Demex sought to recover $51,462.72 it paid SFPPN after its subcontractor, Mikuen, failed to dispose of railway ties as promised.
   
• Default proceedings went ahead after Mikuen did not answer and Mr. Gendron neither appointed new counsel nor said he would act alone.
   
• Mr. Gendron’s May 27, 2021 email committed Mikuen to issuing MELCC-compliant disposal certificates when the ties were shipped to a partner’s site.
   
• Instead, the ties were left on a vacant lot in Canton Arnaud, although storing treated wood is prohibited under Quebec environmental regulation.
   
• Article 317 of the Civil Code of Québec allowed the court to lift the corporate veil, given Mr. Gendron’s conduct as Mikuen’s directing mind and the public-order nature of environmental rules.
   
• Interest was sought from the date of the summons set out in the originating application, as Demex filed no proof that its formal notice was delivered.
   

Facts of the case

In April 2021, the Société ferroviaire et portuaire de Pointe-Noire (SFPPN) hired Démolition et Excavation Demex inc. (Demex) to demolish and remove equipment as part of a development project at the Wabush yard. Demex subcontracted part of the work, including the transport and disposal of the railway ties, to Mikuen Services Environnementaux (Mikuen). Its purchase order was consistent with representations that Sylvain Gendron, acting as Mikuen’s general manager, made in a May 27, 2021 email to Demex president Dany Tremblay. From June 10 to October 13, 2021, Mikuen sent invoices representing that the ties had been disposed of, and Demex paid them in full, a total of $71,897.80.

In December 2024, SFPPN told Demex that the ties had been left on a vacant lot in Canton Arnaud rather than taken to the site authorized by the Ministry of the Environment. SFPPN then invoiced Demex $51,462.72 on February 20, 2025 for disposing of the ties, and Demex had to pay because of a contractual liability that originated in Mikuen’s default. Demex sued Mikuen and Mr. Gendron, the company’s president, for that amount and asked the court to lift the corporate veil so he would be held solidarily liable with Mikuen. The Court of Québec, Civil Division, in the district of Chicoutimi took up the claim on a referral from the special clerk dated May 29, 2026.

Policy and legislative provisions at issue

In his email, Mr. Gendron quoted $120.00 per metric ton, covering preparation, transport and disposal, citing spikes and anchor plates found on the ties. He wrote that Mikuen would issue disposal certificates compliant with the MELCC and a transport manifest when the ties were shipped to the site of its partner, Industrie JPB Énergie inc., the week after pickup. Mikuen also undertook to coordinate transport and cover weighing fees at pickup. On the regulatory side, section 292 of the Regulation respecting the regulatory scheme applying to activities on the basis of their environmental impact (CQLR, c. Q-2, r. 17.1), in the version in force at the time of Mikuen’s default, prohibits the storage of treated wood, which is what the ties are made of. Article 317 of the Civil Code of Québec, as applied by the court, permits the corporate veil to be lifted where there is a contravention of a rule of public order.

Reasoning and analysis

Mikuen did not answer the claim. Mr. Gendron’s original lawyer gave notice on January 27, 2026 of an intention to stop representing him, and after a formal notice dated February 23, 2026, he neither appointed a new lawyer nor indicated that he would act alone. He also failed to appear on May 19, 2026, when Demex presented its applications for registration for judgment by default against both defendants, even though they had been personally served on April 17, 2026 with a notice of presentation.

On the merits, the court relied on Mikuen’s commitment, Mr. Gendron’s representations and a sworn statement from Mr. Tremblay dated August 28, 2026 confirming that Demex had paid Mikuen in full and was obliged to indemnify SFPPN. It found that Demex had paid in error because of false representations Mr. Gendron made on Mikuen’s behalf. Since environmental protection laws and regulations are of public order and storing treated wood is prohibited, the court held that Mr. Gendron’s conduct as Mikuen’s directing mind justified lifting the corporate veil under article 317. His personal liability made the obligations indivisible, which rendered the two defendants solidarily liable. On interest, the court noted Demex’s request to have it run from the date of the summons, as set out in its originating application, rather than from its formal notice, for which no proof of delivery had been filed.

Ruling and overall outcome

Demex succeeded in full. In a judgment dated September 22, 2026, following a September 17, 2026 hearing at which the defendants were absent, the court ordered Mikuen and Mr. Gendron solidarily to pay Demex $51,462.72, with interest at the legal rate plus the additional indemnity under article 1619 of the Civil Code of Québec from June 17, 2025, along with legal costs. The judgment does not quantify the interest, the additional indemnity or the costs, so the only fixed amount awarded is the $51,462.72 principal.