Confidential government document reveals BC ignoring science, failing to protect Muk Muk’s home February 11, 2010 Vancouver, BC -Environmental groups today issued a letter that puts the governments of British Columbia and Canada on legal notice that recovery strategies for 43 endangered and threatened species in BC must immediately be rewritten. The recovery strategies failed to identify known critical habitat–the…
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Media Backgrounder: Nooksack Dace Lawsuit has Widespread Implications for Endangered Species
September 10, 2009 Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) The federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), which came fully into force in 2004, is Canada’s national law to protect endangered species. One of the main tools used in SARA to help an endangered or threatened species survive and recover is the recovery strategy. A recovery strategy is a scientific document…
Read more »Legal Victory for Endangered Species Across Canada
Court ruling means Department of Fisheries and Oceans must overhaul recovery plans September 10, 2009 Vancouver, BC – A precedent-setting legal victory for endangered species may put an end to years of unlawful action by the Government of Canada. In a September 9 ruling, the Federal Court admonished the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for failing to identify the habitat…
Read more »Fight to protect endangered killer whales far from over
‘Trial and error’ approach leaves whales vulnerable claim environmental groups April 20, 2009 VANCOUVER, BC – A lawsuit to protect Canada’s two populations of resident fisheating killer whales is back in court today as environmental groups fight for legal protection of their critical habitat. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is seeking to have the case thrown out of…
Read more »Lawsuit forces Canada to protect endangered killer whales
Stunning policy reversal could mark turning point for 85 remaining whales February 25 2009 VANCOUVER, BC – After British Columbians celebrated the unexpected arrival of two newborn killer whales last week, there is another new cause for hope for BC’s imperilled killer whale populations. This week, the federal government issued an Order that will provide legal protection for the endangered…
Read more »Sierra Club and Georgia Strait Alliance Join Orca Lawsuit
Feds Lose Round 1 of Battle to Protect Orca Habitat January 26, 2009 Victoria, BC – The Federal Court has ruled that Sierra Club of Canada and Georgia Strait Alliance may join a recently filed lawsuit against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, after DFO tried to block the two groups’ participation. The lawsuit, filed by lawyers with Ecojustice, alleges that the…
Read more »Tiny Minnow Takes on Federal Government – Round 2
Dept of Fisheries and Oceans facing second suit over critical habitat protection January 21, 2009 Vancouver, BC – From the small streams of southern BC, an endangered minnow continues to expose the federal government’s reluctance to protect endangered species. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is now facing a second lawsuit after ignoring its duty to protect critical habitat…
Read more »Documents reveal governments acting to undermine species law
Federal and provincial officials agreed not to identify critical endangered species habitat September 8, 2008 Vancouver, BC – In a closely-watched lawsuit about the endangered Nooksack dace, leading environmental groups will present new evidence in Federal Court tomorrow (Tuesday, September 9 at 11 a.m. at 701 West Georgia Street in Vancouver) that the provincial and federal governments have colluded in…
Read more »Feds Work to Protect Endangered Species Only When Sued
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 VANCOUVER, BC – The Nooksack Dace, an endangered fish found in small streams in BC’s Fraser Valley, is one step closer to protection with the re-release of a recovery strategy that identifies habitat critical to its survival and recovery (“critical habitat”). The federal government identified the dace’s critical habitat only after being sued by a coalition of…
Read more »Media Backgrounder: Canadian Military Interferes with Killer Whale Recovery Strategy
May 23, 2007Killer Whale FactsOrcas, also known as Killer Whales, are members of the dolphin family and are the highest predators in the food chainOrcas are highly intelligent mammals that live in matriarchal units comprised of a mother and one or more of her offspring, which congregate into larger social groups known as podsBiologists classify orcas in the Northeast Pacific…
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