B.C. groups sue feds over failure to protect at risk spotted owl


Ecojustice alleges Steven Guilbeault failed to recommend an emergency order to halt all logging planned in the owl’s B.C. habitat.

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Two B.C. groups have launched a lawsuit against the federal environment minister alleging he failed to recommend to cabinet an emergency order to halt logging in B.C.’s endangered spotted owl habitat.

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The Wilderness Committee, represented by environmental law charity Ecojustice, announced Wednesday that it is going to court to force Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, to prevent the extinction of the spotted owl in Canada.

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Ecojustice says it will argue the minister is legally obliged to recommend the emergency order after he stated publicly in February that the species faces an imminent risk to its survival and recovery.

The minister said 2,500 hectares of spotted owl habitat was necessary for the species’ recovery but the groups allege he has not committed to any timeline for doing so.

Under the Species at Risk Act, Guilbeault must make a recommendation to cabinet to issue an emergency order if he forms an opinion that there is an imminent threat to survival or recovery of a species at risk, argue Ecojustice lawyers.

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A request for comment from Guilbeault or the Environment Ministry has not yet been returned.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

As of May 2023, there is only one known surviving owl in the wild. Two captive-bred owls released last fall were found dead.

Joe Foy, a spokesperson for the Wilderness Committee, said Guilbeault promised to recommend an emergency order to the federal cabinet months ago yet he has not done so.

“In the meantime, we are seeing the B.C. government permit spotted owl habitat to be mowed down and carted away on logging trucks right before our eyes. Empty promises will not stop extinction. Only action can do that,” said Foy, in a statement Wednesday.

In February, Guilbeault recommended an emergency order to protect the endangered northern spotted owl, which would allow Ottawa to prevent B.C. from logging in the owl’s old-growth forest habitat. 

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In an emailed statement to Postmedia at the time, Guilbeault said he has been informed by an imminent threat assessment prepared by Environment and Climate Change Canada, that the spotted owl species faces imminent threats to its survival and recovery.

“Having formed the opinion that the species is facing imminent threats, I am fulfilling my legislated duty to recommend an emergency order to protect the species to the Governor in Council,” he said.

Protection of spotted owls has fuelled decades-long disputes between environmental groups and the forest industry as their future is often tied to saving old-growth forests where the birds live.

More to come….

[email protected]

—with files from The Canadian Press


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