Iconic species faces extinction unless Ottawa orders emergency protections under Species at Risk Act. Conservation groups are calling on federal ministers to recommend that Cabinet issue an emergency order immediately to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales. According to a November 29 assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), these whales face imminent threats…
Read more »Press Category: Species Protection
Open Letter Delivery: Transport Canada needs to protect marine life from cruise ship pollution
Representatives from Stand.earth, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, BC Chapter (CPAWS-BC), and the Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) were at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans offices in Vancouver today to call on Transport Minister, Anita Anand, to set a new course towards regulating the massive amounts of ocean pollutants the shipping industry releases into coastal waters. The Open Letter, signed…
Read more »GSA & allies are back in court to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the impacts of the Roberts Bank megaport
A court victory would demonstrate that laws protecting endangered species cannot be disregarded in the name of megaprojects. Conservation groups are at Vancouver Federal Court today fighting to uphold laws aimed at protecting endangered species by challenging the approval of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project by way of a judicial review. Represented by Ecojustice lawyers, the David Suzuki Foundation,…
Read more »Conservation groups demand emergency protections for endangered killer whales as Trans Mountain expansion intensifies threats
Federal promises made for endangered whales during Trans Mountain Expansion approval are unfulfilled, groups say
Six conservation groups are urging the federal government to implement an emergency order — a mechanism that allows Ottawa to intervene when there are imminent threats to species at risk — to protect endangered southern resident killer whales from threats to their survival and recovery. Ecojustice, on behalf of their clients, sent a petition to the minister of fisheries and…
Read more »Action needed for Southern Resident Killer Whales
On May 7, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the 2024 management measures to support Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) recovery. In response, Georgia Strait Alliance’s Campaign Manager russ elliott, said: “While there are some superficial changes, there is nothing substantively new in this year’s measures: only the seasonal addition of a voluntary vessel slowdown area that covers…
Read more »GSA & allies in court to save wild salmon from fish farms
The Minister’s decision to not reissue licences for Discovery Islands fish farms must stand if the Pacific salmon are to survive. VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES: Ecojustice lawyers — representing the David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Living Oceans Society, Watershed Watch Salmon Society and independent biologist Alexandra Morton — are back in court to support…
Read more »Roberts Bank Terminal 2 opposition demands answers
Environmentalists, communities, and unions stand together. Watch the full press conference below Press conference today highlights government’s weak reasoning to sacrifice wildlife and ecosystems in the name of jobs and economy are based on false justifications and incomplete facts. VANCOUVER/UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES — Labour, community, and environmental groups have come…
Read more »Conservation groups challenge Roberts Bank T2 Project approval
The groups remain undeterred in their decade long fight to protect the 73 remaining Southern Resident Killer Whales. The David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the Wilderness Committee, represented by Ecojustice, have filed an application for a judicial review in the Federal Court, challenging the federal government’s decision to approve the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project,…
Read more »Cabinet’s decision to approve Roberts Bank Terminal 2 ignores science
The project will have a devastating impact on Southern Resident killer whales and Chinook salmon
Cabinet’s decision to greenlight the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project is a step backwards for salmon and killer whales. This decision will have significant and permanent adverse effects on endangered Southern Resident killer whales and threatened Chinook salmon. The approved expansion will double the capacity of the existing Port of Vancouver and Westshore facility (near Delta, British Columbia), extending it…
Read more »GSA responds to removal of Discovery Islands fish farms
DFO Minister announces licences for 15 open-net pen fish farms not renewed
Today, the federal Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Joyce Murray, announced she will not renew licences for 15 open-net pen fish farms in the Discovery Islands, upholding the previous direction that former minister Bernadette Jordan established but was set aside – a ruling based on procedural fairness – by a federal judge. In response, Georgia Strait…
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