Species at Risk Act Listing

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Canada's Species at Risk Act: Implementation at a Snail's Pace
Report Released April 2009

Listing

PEARY CARIBOU

Peary caribou, found only in Canada's Arctic, have undergone a precipitous decline of approximately 80% since the 1980s. They are threatened by climate change and the potential for industrial development in their habitat (3). COSEWIC assessed the Peary caribou as endangered in May 2004, yet in July 2005, the government decided not to list the species and instead put it into an "extended consultation" limbo. A listing decision on Peary caribou is still pending.

In order for the Act to apply to a species, it must first be listed for protection. This involves a two-step process. First, a species must be assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an independent scientific body that assesses the status of species and designates them as extirpated, endangered, threatened, special concern, or not at risk. Second, for a species designated in one of the "at risk" categories, the federal government must decide whether to add it to the formal list under SARA. If it does not decide within nine months, the Minister of Environment must list it.

In practice, however, the government has failed to meet this nine-month timeline. Although there is no provision for it in the Act, the government has created an "extended listing process" that has resulted in limbo for many species. At least 53 species at risk are likely continuing to decline while government takes between 17 and 29 months (i.e. two to three times longer than what is legally allowable) to determine whether or not to add them to the list, and for some species the delays are indefinite. Such delays can jeopardize the recovery of a species that is already on the brink of extinction.

In addition, there appears a clear bias against listing certain kinds of species. Overall, COSEWIC has assessed 551 species as extirpated, endangered, threatened, or special concern. The number of species listed under SARA is 449. Chances of eventual listing have been fairly good for most species - with the exception of species found in the oceans or in
northern Canada. Since 2004, only 35% of marine fish assessed by COSEWIC as "at risk" have been added to the list and no marine fish have been listed as endangered or threatened, which would automatically grant them protection against harm. Ten of the 23 species whose listing has been outright rejected are found in the north (2).

Notes
(2) See Mooers, A. O., L. R. Prugh, M. Festa-Bianchet and J. A. Hutchings. 2007. Biases in legal listing under Canadian Endangered Species Legislation. Conservation Biology 21(3): 572-575.
(3) COSEWIC 2004. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Peary caribou Rangifer tarandus pearyi and the barren-ground caribou Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus (Dolphin and Union population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa, pp. 46 and 54.

Grade: D

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