Threatened and Endangered Species

Species at Risk Act

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

Safety Net

SPOTTED OWL
Spotted Owl
The spotted owl is a perfect example of an instance in which the safety net should have been applied. In 2004, conservation organizations submitted a legal petition asking the Minister of Environment to employ the safety net to prevent the northern spotted owl from going extinct in Canada. At the time, there were less than 20 spotted owls documented in the wild. However, the Minister was of the opinion that the species did not face an immediate threat to its survival despite ongoing logging pressures in its habitat; the government failed to intervene and now the spotted owl is being extirpated in the wild. Most recently, only seven northern spotted owls have been counted in the wild.

Photo by Sharon Toochin

As the national law to protect species, one would think that SARA covers all of Canada. In fact, however, habitat protection is mandatory only for aquatic species and on federal lands (such as post offices, military bases and much of the Territories).

This is unfortunate, as species do not recognize political boundaries. However, the Act is equipped with what is called a "safety net" that allows the federal government to order SARA's protections to apply to other species on other lands. SARA requires the Minister to recommend such an order to protect a species and/or the habitat upon which it depends if he or she is of the opinion that a province is failing to effectively do so. To date however, despite the fact that several provinces don't even have species at risk legislation, no Minister has ever made such a recommendation, and the government has never passed such an order.

Grade: F

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