N.B. river group threatens Ottawa with court action

The Petitcodiac Riverkeeper is telling the federal fisheries department to restore the river or face court action.

The Petitcodiac, located in southeastern New Brunswick, ranked number one on an environmentalists' list of the most endangered rivers in the country in 2003. Failure to remove a province-owned causeway and replace it with a bridge has clogged the river's powerful tidal bore, the accompanying report said.

Michel Desjardins, chair of the Riverkeeper, a non-profitgroupthat says its goal is to restore the ecological health of the Petitcodiac, said a 2001 study proved the causeway spanning the river also impedes fish passage, and this is a violation of the Fisheries Act.

In a letter to Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, the Riverkeeper saidOttawa has 45 days to act, or the group will takethe government to court.

"We feel that the federal minister of fisheries and oceans has a responsibility now to confirm formally to the province that the province is in violation of the act, and they need to conform," Desjardins said Thursday.

The group is putting together a legal team, including a local lawyer and support from the North American Riverkeeper network, he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said they are reviewing the letter before commenting.