Environmental groups lose legal challenge to Ontario’s endangered species rules
TORONTO — Ontario’s highest court has dismissed a challenge to the province’s endangered species regulations, a decision environmental groups say will leave many species without legal protection.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld a lower court decision that found the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry was within its rights to grant exemptions to industries such as forestry, oil and gas and mining under changes made in 2013 to the Endangered Species Act.
The regulations provide 19 exemptions from the act. One exemption, for example, allows someone to kill or hurt caribou or damage or destroy the animal’s habitat if that person is conducting forest operations, provided the person has an approved management plan.
“It’s a terrible day for endangered species in Ontario,” said Caroline Schultz, the executive director of Ontario Nature, one of two environmental advocacy groups behind the appeal.