Nature Canada

Vote for Nature, Part 2: Protect Wildlife

The federal government is accountable to Canadians for protecting and recovering endangered species and other threatened wildlife through the federal Species at Risk Act. The federal government also has the legal responsibility to protect migratory birds in Canada. The Migratory Birds Convention Act is the law that implements our international agreement with the United States to conserve waterfowl and other migratory birds that fly across our borders.

Many of our bird populations are declining rapidly. Shorebird species and those that depend on Canada’s native grasslands are particularly vulnerable. Unfortunately Canada is not doing enough domestically and internationally to protect our loved and invaluable bird populations. We are not even fully enforcing our own laws to protect wildlife, according to several Canadian and international investigations. For example the Commission on Environmental Cooperation found that Canada was failing to enforce the Migratory Birds Convention Act by allowing logging operations that routinely destroy the nests of migratory birds. There is a similar lack of government regulation of a wide range of industrial activities that harm migratory birds.

Canada’s list of endangered, threatened and special concern species gets longer every year, never shorter. Species that get re-evaluated are typically doing worse rather than better. Time is ticking for these species, yet internal reviews by Environment Canada found a failure to meet the legal requirements and deadlines of the Species at Risk Act. A number of court rulings have also found the federal government not complying with this law, particularly with the requirement to identify critical habitat.

We need the federal government to live up to its responsibilities to protect wildlife. It must do a better job of enforcing the Species at Risk act by identifying critical habitat as required by the law and meeting deadlines. It must uphold the Migratory Birds Convention Act and change industrial activities that harm birds and their nests.

Ask your candidates:

What will you do to make sure Canada does a better job of enforcing our laws to protect wildlife like caribou, whales, and migratory birds?

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Canada’s wilderness is the world’s envy. It’s our duty to keep our true north strong and green.

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