Federal Court Rules Canada Failed To Protect At Risk Birds In Old Growth Logging Areas

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A Federal Court ruled that Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, failed to protect habitats of at-risk migratory birds in old growth logging areas. Chief Justice Paul Crampton stated the Minister’s decision to limit protection to areas where nests were found ‘was neither reasonable or tenable.’

“This is specifically about the Minister's duty under the Species At-risk Act to take action to protect areas of critical habitat for at-risk migratory birds. Despite the Species At-Risk act being about 20 years old, we had never seen the Minister actually take any action under this section of the act to protect critical habitat of at-risk migratory birds. At least about 25 species of birds are affected by this section,” explained Andhra Azevedo of Ecojustice, the lead counsel representing Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee.

“The federal government had taken the view, through a document called the {, that the duty of the Minister to take action to protect critical habitat only applied to protecting the nests of these birds and not the rest of the habitat that these birds needed to survive and recover. That was what we challenged.”

Lawyers for the Canadian government also argued that federal jurisdiction was limited by the division of powers with the provinces, but Justice Crampton found the federal government’s actions ‘inconsistent’ with the Species At-Risk Act.

“This is particularly so where the relevant province has failed to avail itself of opportunities to take protective action in an area of joint responsibility.”

Andhra Azevedo: “On February 1st we received the decision of Chief Justice Crampton, of the Federal Court, agreeing with our clients Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee, that the Minister's interpretation was not justified. The Species At-Risk Act and the Migratory Birds Protection Laws require the Minister to take action to protect something more than this.”

In his Judgement and Reasons, Justice Crampton wrote, “The Applicants state that the Minister did not consider evidence indicating that habitat loss and degradation is a key threat to the survival and recovery of most at-risk migratory birds affected by the Protection Statement. I agree.”

Judge Crampton pointed out that in September 2021, the Sierra Club and WIlderness Committee informed the Minister that ‘Marbeled Murrelet populations have continued to decline, despite being listed under the Species At-Risk Act for many years.’

The two conservation groups pointed out that, “The majority of the Marbled Murrelet’s critical habitat is on provincial lands and that the province of British Columbia had failed to adequately protect that habitat from industrial logging and other activities.”