La Prairie housing development halted over endangered frog species

A QuebecSuperior Court judge has granted an injunction suspendingwork on a housing development in La Prairie,a suburb about 20 kilometres south of Montreal.

The wooded wetland where the project is being built is home to an endangered species calledthe western chorus frog.

The decision was announced Friday afternoon, putting a stop to work on the project for at least the nextten days.

It was the third request for an injunctionfiled by theQuebec Centre for Environmental Law in as many weeks. The two previous requests were denied by the courts.

KarinePeloffy, the director of the centre, welcomed the ruling in a statement Friday.

But she said she's still concerned the project could wipe out the frog's habitat andhasasked the provincial environment minister to weigh in.

The Symbiocit project aims to build1,400 new housing units "surrounded by nature" andclose to services, schools, highways and Quartier DIX30.,according to the company's web site.

The company building the condos, Quintcap, couldn't be reached for comment late Friday.