Species at Risk Act: Report to Parliament, 2005.

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Introduction

• Purposes of SARA
• Responsibilities under SARA

The Species at Risk Act (SARA) received Royal Assent on December 12, 2002, and came fully into force on June 1, 2004.

This report provides a summary of SARA-related activities carried out in the 2005 calendar year and in the 2005-2006 fiscal year where information is compiled on a fiscal year basis.

This introductory section outlines the purposes of SARA and the responsibilities of federal departments and agencies under the Act. Subsequent sections describe activities in the following areas: consultation and cooperation, stewardship and public engagement, the List of Wildlife Species at Risk, measures to protect and recover listed species, compliance and enforcement, and the SARA Public Registry.

This report fulfils the Minister of the Environment's obligation, under section 126 of the Act, to prepare an annual report on the administration of SARA during the previous calendar year. The Act requires that the report include a summary addressing the following matters:

1. the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)'s assessments and the Minister's response to each of them;
2. the preparation and implementation of recovery strategies, action plans and management plans;
3. all agreements made under sections 10 to 13;
4. all agreements entered into and permits issued under section 73, and all agreements and permits amended under section 75 or exempted under section 76;
5. enforcement and compliance actions taken, including the response to any requests for investigation;
6. regulations and emergency orders made under SARA; and
7. any other matters that the Minister considers relevant.

In 2005, the Government of Canada engaged an independent consulting group to conduct a formative evaluation of federal species at risk programs. The purpose of the evaluation was to review how the Act had been implemented in the first two and a half years after coming into force. The findings of the evaluation would allow the federal government to modify its approach to the implementation of species at risk legislation and programs in preparation for the SARA five-year review in 2008. As the evaluation was ongoing at the end of 2005, the results of the evaluation and the federal government's response will be included in the 2006 Report to Parliament on SARA.

Purposes of SARA

SARA is an important tool for conserving and protecting Canada's biological diversity. The purposes of the Act are to prevent wildlife species¹ from being extirpated or becoming extinct, to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity, and to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened.

The Act establishes a process for conducting scientific assessments of the population status of individual species, and a mechanism for listing extirpated, endangered, threatened and special concern species. SARA also includes provisions for the protection of individuals of listed wildlife species, and for their critical habitats and residences.

SARA recognizes that the responsibility for the conservation of wildlife in Canada is shared by federal and provincial/territorial governments. The federal government is responsible for terrestrial species found on federal lands as well as aquatic species and most migratory birds, while the provincial and territorial governments have primary responsibility for other species. SARA is designed to work with provincial/ territorial legislation.

SARA also complements existing legislation administered by Environment Canada and other federal departments and agencies, including:

• The following Conventions and Acts administered by Environment Canada:
  • the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,
  • the Convention on Biological Diversity,
  • the Canada Wildlife Act,
  • the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and
  • the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act;
    
• The following Acts administered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada:
  • the Fisheries Act,
  • the Oceans Act;
• And the following Acts administered by the Parks Canada Agency:
  • the Canada National Parks Act,
  • the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, and
  • the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park Act.

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Responsibilities under SARA

Three government organizations share responsibility for the implementation of SARA:

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada oversees matters concerning aquatic species when individuals of these species are found outside Parks Canada Agency waters;
• the Parks Canada Agency oversees matters concerning individuals of species found in or on federal lands it administers; and
• Environment Canada oversees matters concerning all other species, including migratory birds.

The Ministers responsible for these government organizations are referred to as "competent ministers" under SARA (note that the Minister of the Environment is the Minister responsible for both Environment Canada and the Parks Canada Agency). Competent ministers have the authority to make decisions in their respective areas of responsibility and are required to consult with each other as necessary on matters related to SARA. Orders in Council required under SARA, such as orders to list species under the Act, are made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment.

Under SARA, COSEWIC is the independent body of experts responsible for identifying and assessing species at risk in Canada. COSEWIC uses a process based on science, Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge, and community knowledge to assess species as extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened, special concern, data deficient, or not at risk.

The Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC) was established under the 1996 Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, and continues to play a role in the protection of species at risk under SARA. CESCC is made up of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for conservation and management of species at risk. Under SARA, CESCC:

• provides general direction on the activities of COSEWIC, preparation of recovery strategies and the preparation and implementation of action plans; and
• coordinates the activities of the various governments represented on the Council relating to protection of species at risk.

SARA recognizes that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada possess unique traditional knowledge concerning wildlife species. Section 18 of the Act requires that an Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee be established under COSEWIC for the purpose of integrating this knowledge into the species assessment process. Section 8.1 of SARA also requires that a National Aboriginal Council on Species at Risk (NACOSAR) be established to advise the Minister of the Environment on the administration of the Act and to provide advice and recommendations to CESCC.

NACOSAR consists of six representatives of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada — one member at large and five others, each nominated by one of the five national Aboriginal organizations listed below:

• Assembly of First Nations
• Métis National Council
• Native Women's Association of Canada
• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

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1 SARA defines a "wildlife species" as "a species, subspecies, variety or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and (a) is native to Canada; or (b) has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years."

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