People-powered pressure delivers immediate protection for critical habitat — no motor vehicles, mechanical raking or sand dunes and vegetation clearing during critical migration periods.
TORONTO | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat: When Piping Plovers migrate through their home at Wasaga Beach this fall, they will find added protections for their critical habitat.
The demands from Environmental Defence and Ontario Nature, represented by Ecojustice, have secured immediate commitments from the Town of Wasaga Beach to protect federally recognized Piping Plover critical habitat, without the groups having to argue their injunction motion in court. The Town has now made a legally enforceable promise to the Federal Court of Canada, known as an “undertaking”, that it will avoid damaging or destroying Piping Plover critical habitat this fall.
The groups filed an urgent injunction request in July after evidence showed that activities including motor vehicle use and mechanical beach raking threatened critical habitat at Beach Area 1, Ontario’s most important Piping Plover nesting site. An injunction would allow the Court, after holding a hearing, to put temporary protections in place while an underlying lawsuit proceeds.
Between now and October 31, 2026, the Town has committed to stop driving motorized vehicles, mechanically raking, and clearing sand dunes and vegetation within the critical habitat. The Town has also installed signs warning people not to drive motorized vehicles into the protected area. In an order issued September 4, the Federal Court acknowledged the Town’s undertaking and allowed the underlying lawsuit to move forward on an expedited schedule, without needing to take more time for an injunction hearing.
The result: the Piping Plovers’ critical migration period can proceed without these damaging activities permitted by the Town. Pressure from the lawsuit and members of the public helped secure these added protections. The coming months will be an important opportunity to keep this pressure on and demand that protection for the Piping Plover critical habitat stay in place for years to come.
For the tiny shorebirds returning to Wasaga Beach, the difference is enormous!
Piping Plover chicks are barely bigger than cotton balls when they emerge onto the sand. They rely on dunes, driftwood, native vegetation, and natural beach features to forage and hide from predators. Each fall, Piping Plover fledglings and adults use Wasaga Beach as a stopover site to rest and refuel while they migrate south for the winter.
Since Piping Plovers returned to Ontario in 2007 after a 30-year absence, approximately 70 percent of all Ontario-fledged plovers that have survived to adulthood have come from Wasaga Beach. With only seven breeding pairs remaining in Ontario in 2025, protecting this beach is essential to the species’ survival and recovery.
The victory also shows that protecting endangered species does not always have to mean years of litigation.
The judicial review will continue, with a Federal Court hearing scheduled for November 5. But for now, the message from the community is clear: protect the beach, protect the birds, and keep the machines out.
This win happened because people spoke up, and it shows what is possible when communities keep the pressure on. We don’t always need a lengthy court battle to protect nature. When communities speak out, organize and keep the pressure on, change can happen before needing to wait for a court to decide.
About
Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
Ontario Nature protects wild species and wild spaces through conservation, education and public engagement. A charitable organization, it represents 9,500 members, 130,000 supporters and 160 member groups from across Ontario.
Ecojustice uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions and law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax.
