Canada’s laws to save endangered species are failing

Canada was rightfully slapping itself on the back for successfully helping steer a major international agreement to address biodiversity loss across the finish line at the Convention on Biological Diversity summit in Montreal just before the holidays. But, as with other holiday celebrations, the bills are due in the new year. In this case, those “bills” take the form of the obligations Canada has taken on to address the accelerating biodiversity crisis, including finding the most effective ways to halt and reverse the loss of nature. Canadians want to see these commitments taken seriously. We all value the wildlife and wild places that are still such a huge part of the Canadian identity, economy, and well-being. Canada’s wild places are just as important for protecting life on Earth as the Amazon or coral reefs. We have over 300 species not found anywhere else on Earth, and our boreal forests and peatlands store massive amounts of carbon while also being a refuge for at-risk species such as caribou, wolverine, and sturgeon. But while we have plenty of laws, policies, and plans intended to protect nature, the continued decline of wildlife makes clear the shortcomings of current approaches. Today, there are over 800 species that have been assessed as being at risk of extinction by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. An additional 44 species are assessed as globally or nationally extinct. Sadly, this list has grown by about four per cent each year over the past two decades, and that growth shows no sign of slowing. Perhaps just as concerning as the growing number of species at risk are the types of wild species we are now at risk of losing. Wild species common just a few generations ago, including black ash, bumblebees, and prairie songbirds, are slipping away on our watch. This is not just bad news for black ash, bumblebees, and birds. The decline of these species is a sign of unprecedented changes to our environment, ranging from the loss of habitats and the impact of chemicals we release into our air, water, and soil to the rapid rate of climate change. Many of our current nature laws have good intentions. The very purpose of Canada’s Species at Risk Act is to prevent extinctions, provide for the recovery of endangered species, and prevent wild species from becoming endangered in the first place. This is exactly what we need to do. However, in practice, protections under the Act are limited, mainly applying to species under federal jurisdiction. These only include migratory birds, aquatic species, and species on federal lands. Protecting the remainder—and the majority—of Canada’s endangered species is the constitutional responsibility of the provinces and territories. Yet British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Prince Edward Island, and Nunavut have yet to develop dedicated species at risk legislation, instead relying on wildlife laws created to regulate hunting and trapping rather than addressing the extinction crisis. Of the six provinces and territories with endangered species laws, these are often weak, underfunded, or under constant attack. We still permit industrial logging, mines, and roads in the habitat of threatened caribou. The Ontario government significantly weakened its Endangered Species Act through the More Homes, More Choice Act (2019). These actions included adding a requirement to consider the “broader biologically relevant range” of a species. As a result, species such as the Rapids Clubtail, a globally imperilled dragonfly found in southern Ontario, is proposed to have its status downgraded because there are stable populations over 800 kilometres away in Minnesota and Wisconsin. These changes are on top of the previous dilution of the province’s Endangered Species Act that exempted industrial forestry and removed the automatic listing of species assessed as at risk. As a result of these disjointed and often weak efforts, Canada is lagging behind other counties in protecting endangered wildlife. American states like Texas and Florida, which are obligated to protect federally listed species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, arguably have stronger endangered species protections than much of Canada. The good news is that when endangered species policies are taken seriously, amazing results can be achieved. Peregrine falcon, trumpeter swan, and the Atlantic population of humpback whale have all been taken off the list of Canada’s endangered wildlife because governments embraced effective conservation action. And we have some very good examples of forward thinking on our books: Manitoba’s law looks to protect endangered ecosystems as well as endangered species, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Endangered Species Act recognizes the intrinsic rights of all species to exist. However, effective implementation requires much more than good intentions. Endangered species are on the front line of what’s happening to nature in Canada. The larger the list, the further we are from halting and reversing the loss of biodiversity. The longer we delay actions to recover species at risk, the more difficult and expensive our future efforts will be. The more endangered species we have, the greater the risk that we are weakening the ecosystems that our economy, society, and well-being rest upon. So if we want the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to be a legacy for Canadians and the world, we have to get serious about action to recover endangered species and properly address the myriad threats faced by wildlife and their habitats across Canada. Ambitions must be supported by action. We need more funding, new ecosystem-based approaches, and greater involvement (and willingness) from all sectors to work together for species protection and recovery. Indigenous-led conservation will be central to achieving our goals, and Canada has made some progress in recognizing this with recent federal funding announcements. But some provinces, including Ontario, continue to resist and roll-back laws meant to protect nature. Improving our laws to better support the recovery of endangered species and their habitats will provide a foundation for action on our Convention on Biological Diversity commitments. To address the combined crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss, we don’t just need to move to a zero-carbon world; we need to embrace a zero-extinction world, as well. Both objectives are going to require bold action and long-term commitments, but in doing so, we are building a better world for nature and future generations. Dan Kraus is the director of national conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. He supports and manages WCS Canada’s portfolio of national initiatives, including key biodiversity areas, One Health, biodiversity policy, and natural climate solutions. Prior to WCS Canada, Kraus worked for the Nature Conservancy of Canada for more than 18 years. Justina Ray is president and senior scientist at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. A wildlife biologist, Ray has been involved in northern wildlife research, planning, and policy for over 15 years. She is a former member of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and co-chair of the terrestrial mammals subcommittee from 2009 to 2017. The Hill Times