Golden Star accused of violating court order
Golden Star lot, April 2026. Courtesy Google Earth
Barry Bonspille, owner of the Golden Star cannabis dispensary, has pleaded not guilty to contempt of court following allegations that he repeatedly violated the safeguard order banning work filling in the shores of the Lake of Two Mountains.
According to a summons issued by Superior Court of Quebec judge Carole Therrien on April 22, violations were allegedly observed between May and September 2025 on lot 82, the site of Golden Star.
Golden Star’s lot was among the sites where the government alleged contaminated soil was found during Operation GRAVIER, which saw 20 investigators and enforcement officers sweep the shores of the lake in August 2024 after several months of complaints about dumping at lots along the shoreline in Kanesatake, often involving hundreds of dump trucks per day.
That operation culminated in a civil case launched by Quebec, ultimately naming 20 defendants, mostly Kanehsata’kehró:non. The Superior Court soon issued a temporary injunction halting work on the shoreline, which has been repeatedly renewed.
Bonspille, who entered his not guilty plea on June 4, faces a fine not exceeding $10,000. However, the summons notes that a continued refusal to comply with the safeguard order could result in imprisonment for up to one year.
Reached through his legal counsel, Bonspille declined to comment for this article.
A court-imposed ban has been in place since October 2024, when Quebec was first granted a temporary injunction. A safeguard order was renewed in May 2025.
An analysis of satellite images archived by Google Earth from May 2023 through April 2026 appears to show considerable changes at the site over that time, with pavement appearing to jut noticeably into the lake in the most recent image.
According to Frédéric Fournier, a spokesperson for Environment Quebec, drone surveillance to ensure compliance was conducted in the summer of last year as well as last month.
“A drone surveillance operation conducted by the Ministry last May revealed violations of the law and its regulations,” said Fournier. “The Ministry is closely monitoring this matter and will use all available resources to enforce the Environment Quality Act and its regulations, in accordance with the Directive on the Handling of Violations.”
As legal proceedings are ongoing, Environment Quebec will not comment further, he said.
Recently, Quebec Solidaire MNA Manon Massé told the National Assembly that she has been receiving reports of dump trucks once again streaming into the community.
According to Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) caretaker council member Brant Etienne, multiple cannabis stores have continued work on the shoreline in violation of the safeguard order.
“I think it goes to show where those supposed community members’ hearts are if they’re willing to continue the contamination and destruction of our lands and the land that supported our ancestors for time immemorial. You’ve got to really wonder about their values,” Etienne said.
Etienne added that many of the dump trucks currently streaming into the community are bringing their contents to the interior of the territory.
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Only lots on the shoreline were targeted in the case brought by Quebec.
Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
