Two environmental groups are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear their case against Ontario's endangered species regulations.
Ontario Nature and the Wildlands League were on the losing end of a decision by the province's Court of Appeal in October.
They argued that some regulations in the Endangered Species Act exempt harmful industrial activities, leaving 167 species without statutory protection against being killed or their habitats being destroyed.
The Court of Appeal upheld a previous lower court decision that found the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is within its rights to grant exemptions to industries such as forestry and mining, under changes made to the Endangered Species Act in 2013.
One of the 19 exemptions in the legislation, for example, allows someone to kill or hurt caribou or damage or destroy its habitat if that person is conducting forest operations, provided that the individual has an approved forest management plan.
The appellate court ruled that the Ontario government had properly considered the effects of the regulation on each species, and that the law is intended to protect biological diversity while also considering social, economic and cultural needs.
The two environmental groups are now asking the country's highest court for leave to appeal that decision.
-- With files from The Canadian Press
