OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Thursday it laid 200 charges against steelmaker ArcelorMittal's Canada unit for violating the country's Fisheries Act.

The charges stem from several investigations launched by the Canadian environment ministry's enforcement officers.

The concerned subsection of the law prohibits depositing or permitting "the deposit of a deleterious substance in water frequented by fish or in any place where the deleterious substance may enter any such water," the government said.