Southern Resident killer whales on the surface of the blue Salish Sea.

We are headed to the Supreme Court for Southern Resident killer whales

Today, Raincoast takes our work to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Working with Living Oceans Society and our legal team at Ecojustice, we have filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. We are arguing that the…

J50 and J42, Southern Resident Killer Whales swim in the Salish Sea.

Trans Mountain Expansion & Southern Resident killer whales: Project background

Raincoast Conservation Foundation represented by Ecojustice have worked through the courts to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the threats posed by the Trans Mountain Expansion project.  Timeline 2013 – Raincoast and Living Oceans, legally represented by Ecojustice, file as formal intervenors in the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX)….

Aerial view of Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea, and Misty Macduffee and CFAX logo in the foreground.

Interview: Why our latest court challenge to the re-approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline is critical for the Salish Sea

The Southern Resident killer whales are a small declining population. The increase in tanker traffic associated with the Trans Mountain expansion will have a significant adverse effect on these killer whales in the Salish Sea…

Salmon circle on the rocky bottom of the Fraser River.

Approval of Trans Mountain expansion puts Fraser River salmon and Salish Sea estuaries at risk

The Fraser River in British Columbia remains one of the world’s most productive salmon rivers. Equally significant is the Fraser River’s estuary, which serves as vital habitat for fish, bird, and mammal species that are linked across thousands of kilometers of the Northeast Pacific Ocean. All Fraser River populations of salmon…

A killer whale in the foreground, with a container ship behind it in the mouth of the Fraser River.

We’re headed back to court for killer whales

Today we are returning to court with partners Ecojustice and Living Oceans Society to challenge the federal government’s re-approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Our lawyers at Ecojustice submitted a motion to the Federal Court of Appeal this morning, asking for leave to launch a judicial review of Cabinet’s decision. We contend that Cabinet…

L121 and calf in the Salish Sea.

NEB recommends Trans Mountain proceed despite “significant adverse effects” to Southern Residents

The National Energy Board (NEB) has recommended that the Trans Mountain expansion project should proceed despite the “significant adverse effects” of oil tankers on the critically endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales. Although we disagree with the NEB’s conclusion, their review of the project effects on killer whales is forthright and portrays the severity of the current situation…

Beam Reach Haro Strait Salish Sea, with a map of the Southern Resident killer whale critical habitat and the tanker route tot he Trans Mountain Expansion Burnaby terminal.

Raincoast’s evidence on Southern Resident killer whales for the National Energy Board’s reconsideration of the Trans Mountain Expansion

The National Energy Board is now preparing its recommendations to cabinet on the Trans Mountain Expansion. When we won our legal case in the federal court of appeal in August 2018, the courts quashed the Trans Mountain permits and required the National Energy Board to reconsider their recommendations…

A quiet sunny day on the The Fraser River.

Wild Salmon, Pipelines and the Trans Mountain Expansion

As the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population continues to struggle from the combined forces of noise, pollution and food (i.e. Chinook) availability, Raincoast Conservation Foundation has released a report that highlights the risks posed to wild salmon in the Lower Fraser River from an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline…