Federal ministers took action on endangered species due to lawsuit: lawyer

VANCOUVER – A federal government lawyer says the ministers responsible for protecting endangered species took action on four critically threatened species because they were facing court proceedings.

Since the Federal Court lawsuit was filed, the fisheries and environment ministers have published a final recovery strategy for Pacific humpback whales and draft strategies for marbled murrelet and Nechako white sturgeon.

A commitment was also made to the court that a draft plan for southern mountain caribou will be posted by Jan. 17.

Federal lawyer Brian McLaughlin told a Federal Court judge that there is a huge backlog of species that are supposed to have protection under law, but these four received action as a result of the court case brought by a coalition of groups.

McLaughlin told the court that he wrote to the ministers to urge them to “do something about this file” or face “serious consequences.”

The Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club, David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and Wildsight are asking the court to order Ottawa to complete final recovery strategies for the four species, which are up to six years overdue.