Five environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation and the Wilderness Committee, are taking the federal government to court, claiming it has failed to meet its responsibilities under the Species at Risk Act to protect endangered wildlife threatened by the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.

The case will be heard by the Federal Court in Vancouver Jan. 8 and 9.

“The federal government’s chronic delays in producing recovery strategies for Canada’s endangered wildlife are forcing species already struggling to survive to wait even longer for the protection they desperately need,” said Ecojustice executive director Devon Page, whose group is representing the environmental groups in this case.

The groups say the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline would impact four endangered species – the Pacific humpback whale, Nechako white sturgeon, marbled murrelet and southern mountain caribou. They say the government delayed too long to consider release recovery strategies for these species to be considered by the Northern Gateway Joint Review Panel.

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