Environmental lawyers tell courtroom Ottawa’s protections for piping plovers flawed

By Michael Tutton Environmental groups argued in Federal Court this week that Ottawa’s plans for protecting the habitat of the piping plover are too vague to provide adequate protection to the endangered species. The migratory shorebirds build their nests along coastal beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, where the animals are increasingly at risk from human activities. Lawyers for East Coast Environmental Law and for Nature Nova Scotia presented their case on Tuesday, arguing that the approach approved by the federal minister in 2022 for protecting specific parts of beaches has unclear language and is weaker than Ottawa’s prior conservation strategy from a decade earlier. Federal lawyers provided countering arguments in the Halifax hearing on Wednesday morning before Justice Richard Southcott, who reserved his decision on the matter. Tina Northrup, a…

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