Bill C-5, Species at Risk Act

1. Bill C-5, Species at Risk Act November 2002

2. Wildlife at Risk • Globally • Up to 3 species lost per day • More than 5,000 animal species, nearly 34,000 plant species at risk • In Canada, COSEWIC has assessed • 402 species to be at risk or extinct • 19 extirpated, 124 endangered, 100 threatened, 147 special concern • 130 plants, 74 fish, 63 mammals, 56 birds

3. Who Manages Wildlife in Canada?

4. Who Manages Habitat in Canada?

5. Cooperation and Stewardship • Fundamental principles • Complex jurisdiction requires cooperation among federal departments, provinces and territories, and Aboriginal peoples • Multiple jurisdiction for habitat requires the same, plus stewardship by landowners, land users, resource users etc.

6. Three-Part Federal Strategy for Protecting Species at Risk • Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk unifies efforts of provinces, territories and federal government • Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council • Stewardship and incentive programs that empower Canadians to take conservation actions • SARA is key pillar in strategy

7. Progress of Bill C-5 • More than 150 consultation sessions held across the country • Ground-breaking involvement of Aboriginal peoples • 40 sessions and 90 witnesses before the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development • Nearly 50 sessions in the House of Commons

8. Purpose of the Act • To prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct or lost from the wild and to secure their recovery • Covers all wildlife species at risk nationally, their critical habitats and applies to all lands in Canada

9. Ministerial Responsibility • Minister of the Environment lead Minister, and accountable for overall administration of SARA • Specific responsibility assigned to Heritage Minister for species managed by the Parks Canada Agency, and to Minister of Fisheries and Oceans for aquatic species • Minister of Environment responsible for all other listed species

10. Species at Risk Act Basic Elements • Science based species assessment • Legal listing process • Immediate Species Protection • Recovery and management planning • Stewardship measures to protect critical habitat with prohibition as backstop • Effective enforcement measures

11. Science-Based Species Assessment • Gives COSEWIC legal basis • Independent, arm’s length expert status assessments • Assessments provided to the Minister and CESCC and published • Minister must indicate response within 90 days • GIC has 9 months to make a decision on legal listing or else species is listed according to COSEWIC assessment • 233 species on initial legal list at Proclamation

12. Immediate Species Protection • Automatic prohibitions against killing and destruction of residence for endangered, threatened and extirpated species that are aquatic species, migratory birds, or on federal lands • Provinces and territories given first opportunity to protect others. • If not protected, safety net approach means that federal prohibitions may be applied • Emergency authority to prohibit destruction of critical habitat of a listed species facing imminent threats to its survival or recovery

13. Recovery and Management Planning • Mandatory recovery strategies and action plans for endangered, threatened and extirpated species • Management plans for species of special concern • Inclusive process of development and implementation • Recovery strategies and actions plans must address identified threats to listed species and identify critical habitat • Ministerial reporting on implementation every five years

14. Stewardship • Conservation agreements with any government, organization or person for measures to: • protect species at risk and their critical habitats • develop and implement recovery strategies, action plans and management plans • conserve wildlife species not at risk, to prevent them from becoming so • Funding agreements to help cover cost of conservation actions

15. Critical Habitat Protection • Critical habitat is identified in recovery process • Preferred approach to protecting critical habitat is stewardship • Where voluntary measures do not adequately protect critical habitat, each jurisdiction to use its legislation • Bill guarantees protection on federal lands and for aquatic species • If other critical habitat is not protected by other federal or provincial legislation or voluntary measures, authority to apply prohibitions under SARA as a backstop

16. Compensation • Provision for compensation • Restricted to losses suffered as a result of any extraordinary or unfair impact when necessary to prohibit destruction of critical habitat • Authority to provide compensation implemented through regulations • Regulations must be developed.

17. Project Review • Environmental assessments for projects required by an Act of Parliament will have to take into account the project’s effects on listed species and their critical habitats • Measures must be taken to avoid or lessen those effects, and to monitor the results • Amendment to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act definition of “environmental effect” to include a listed species, its critical habitat or its residence as defined in SARA

18. Public Involvement & Citizen Action • Open and transparent process • Public registry for documents relating to SARA, including COSEWIC’s criteria for and assessments of the status of species, its status reports on species, and regulations and orders made under SARA • A right for citizens to apply to have a species assessed by COSEWIC; comment on proposed recovery strategies, action plans and management plans prior to their approval; and apply for an investigation into an alleged offence under the Act

19. Enforcement • Approach along the same lines as other federal environmental legislation • Strict liability offences • Due diligence defence • Higher penalties for corporations versus individuals and non-profit organizations • Close cooperation with other enforcement agencies