Canadian Court Hears Case Over Government Duty to Prepare Species Recovery Plans

摘要

The Federal Court of Canada has begun considering a case brought by environmental groups who say the federal government has failed to meet its responsibility under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) to prepare recovery strategies for endangered wildlife allegedly threatened by a number of projects, including the Northern Gateway oil pipeline (Western Canada Wilderness Committee v. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Federal Court of Canada, Consolidated Proceedings T-1777-12, hearing 1/8/14). At issue in the lawsuit are the Pacific humpback whale, Nechako white sturgeon, marbled murrelet and southern mountain caribou. The four filings come under the global lawsuit name of Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC), David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation and Wildsight v. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. The legal charity Eco-justice is representing the groups. "The federal government's chronic delays in producing recovery strategies for Canada's endangered wildlife are forcing species already struggling to survive to wait even longer for the protection they desperately need," Devon Page, executive director of Ecojustice, told reporters Jan*. 8 outside the courthouse in Vancouver.