Endangered Species
Despite Canada’s extraordinary natural legacy, there is evidence of increasing pressure on animals and plants from human activities. In July 2005, 39 new additions were made to the list of "species at risk" in Canada, bringing the total to 487 officially at-risk species.
Species At Risk Act only a small step
Canada’s new Species At Risk Act (SARA) is a small step in the right direction to protect Canadian wildlife. SARA currently applies only to federal lands, --like post-offices, national parks, airports and RCMP detachments. Because most public, or Crown, lands in Canada are under provincial jurisdiction, only a tiny fraction of Canada is under its direct protection. However, the SARA does contain special provisions that can protect areas normally under provincial jurisdiction, but these apply only under special circumstances. Furthermore, without proper funding and enforcement, the laws themselves mean very little.
David Suzuki Foundation Legal Petition
The David Suzuki Foundation called for these special provisions of SARA to be invoked after the province of British Columbia approved logging inside the habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl, Canada’s most endangered bird. In a legal petition, filed in partnership with the Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the Western Canadian Wilderness Committee, the David Suzuki Foundation provided legal arguments to the federal government that support habitat protection of spotted owl habitat under SARA. However, the federal government has not yet chosen to invoke the special provisions of the SARA, despite the spotted owl’s ongoing movement towards extinction in Canada. (Only four breeding pairs were counted in 2005.)
Weaknesses of Species at Risk Act
Currently, the SARA protects only the specific residence of an endangered species: such as a lake for a fish, or a tree for a bird. Yet, protecting the ecosystem where species live - the feeding grounds, water, and general architecture — is what is truly vital to its survival. It’s like being required to protect a person’s bed and pillow, but being allowed to tear down their house, uproot their garden, and cut their water line. This lack of protection for habitat is a fundamental weakness of the SARA.
SARA protects only some of the species that are designated "at risk". There are currently 487 species on the species at risk list that is scientifically developed by Government of Canada agency COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). Yet, only 345 of these have received protection under SARA. This is because the act excludes species if protecting them may cause economic or social impacts. These exclusions seriously weaken the act's effectiveness, as it is usually economic considerations that have put these species in harm’s way in the first place.
SARA is currently under a five-year review period. Until that time, we must ensure that a stronger and more comprehensive national strategy to protect Canada's endangered species is developed.
