The Quebec government has warned the wealthy owners of an illegal golf-course development in the Eastern Townships that it intends to order them to restore wetlands on their property. Glenn Chamandy, the CEO of multinational clothing company Gildan and his wife Amel Murad carried out construction of the private golf course on their property in the municipality of Austin, without city approval, according to Mayor Lisette Maillé. Quebec’s agricultural land protection commission previously said the development damaged both farmland and a maple grove. The Ministry of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks inspected the property on July 31, 2025, and found that about a 2.4-hectare wooded peat bog had been almost entirely cleared and excavated to create an artificial lake. “A segment of a watercourse feeding into Lake Memphremagog was also affected and connected to this artificial lake. These activities were conducted without ministerial authorization, contravening section 22 of the Environment Quality Act (EQA),” the ministry said in a press release. In August 2025, the ministry issued a notice of non-compliance requesting that the owners submit a plan to restore the affected environments. According to the government, a plan submitted in October by the owners did not meet expectations because it did not restore the area to its original state or a comparable condition. “Given the seriousness of the impacts and the ongoing non-compliance, the Ministry reviewed other measures available to correct the situation,” the government said. “Through prior notice of Order No. 764, issued under section 114 of the EQA, the Ministry signalled its intention to order Chamandy and Murad to restore the wetlands and water environments on the affected lots of their property to their pre-work condition, or to a comparable state.” Chamandy and Murad now have 15 days to submit written observations to the Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, Benoit Charette. Charette will then decide whether to issue the order, taking into account any comments received.
