Government failure to recommend emergency order to protect endangered orcas prompts legal challenge from conservation groups

Georgia Strait Alliance
2025 01 28

The groups contend that after months of urging government to use the tools available under SARA to protect the Southern Residents, they had no choice but to turn to the courts for action. This decision to turn to the courts follows a precedent-setting federal court ruling last summer regarding spotted owls, which confirmed that once a government has acknowledged imminent threats concerning survival or recovery, an unreasonable delay in issuing emergency orders is a violation of SARA.
The longer the Southern Residents wait for bold action, the greater the risk of extinction. This urgency is why the groups are asking the court to compel the Ministers to make the emergency order recommendation without further delay.