Reviews and Reports

Review of designations and classifications

27. COSEWIC must review the designation and classification of each species at risk at least once every 10 years, or more frequently if it has reason to believe that the status of the species has changed significantly.

Reports to Council

28. When COSEWIC makes a decision about the designation or classification of a wildlife species, COSEWIC must report the decision to the members of the Council.

Annual reports

29. As soon as possible after the end of each year, COSEWIC must report to the Council on its activities during that year.

List of Wildlife Species at Risk

Regulations

30. (1) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, may make regulations establishing and amending the List of Wildlife Species at Risk based on COSEWIC's designations and classifications of wildlife species.

Notice of response to designation, etc.

(2) Within 90 days after COSEWIC designates a wildlife species, changes its classification or revokes a designation, the Governor in Council must give notice in the public registry of whether the Governor in Council intends to amend the List accordingly.

Listing at request of provincial minister

(3) The Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, may also include a wildlife species on the List if a provincial minister designates it as a species at risk, asks that it be listed and agrees to participate in the preparation of a recovery plan for the species.

Public registry

(4) The List must be included in the public registry.

MEASURES TO PROTECT LISTED SPECIES

Prohibitions

Killing, harming, etc., listed species

31. (1) No person shall kill, harm, harass, capture or take an individual of a listed endangered or threatened species.

Possession, collection, etc.

(2) No person shall possess, collect, buy, sell or trade an individual of a listed endangered or threatened species, or any part or derivative of one.

Damage or destruction of residence

32. No person shall damage or destroy the residence of an individual of a listed endangered or threatened species.

Regulations protecting certain cross-
boundary species

33. The Minister may make regulations prohibiting any person from

    (a) wilfully killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking an individual of a wildlife animal species, other than one mentioned in paragraph 3(1)(a) or (b), if COSEWIC

      (i) has determined that the species migrates across an international boundary of Canada or has a range extending across such a boundary, and

      (ii) has designated the species as an endangered or threatened species; or

    (b) knowingly engaging in activities that damage or destroy the residence of the individual.

Before making the regulations, the Minister must consult the provincial minister of each province in which the regulations will apply.

Emergency Orders

Order based on emergency designation or classification

34. (1) The responsible minister may make an emergency order providing for the protection of a wildlife species if COSEWIC designates or reclassifies the species as endangered or threatened on an emergency basis. The order may include provisions regulating or prohibiting activities that may adversely affect the species or the residences of its individuals.

Order based on inadequate recovery plan, etc.

(2) The responsible minister may make an emergency order providing for the protection of a wildlife species if the responsible minister determines that the recovery plan for the species no longer adequately protects it or that immediate action is required to protect the species. The order may include provisions regulating or prohibiting activities that may adversely affect the species or the residences of its individuals.

Notification of Minister

(3) If the responsible minister is the Minister of Canadian Heritage or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, he or she must

    (a) notify the Minister of any decision (including the reasons) not to make an order under subsection (1) in response to an emergency designation or reclassification; and

    (b) notify the Minister before making an order under subsection (2).

Provisions for the protection of habitat

(4) An emergency order must include provisions regulating or prohibiting activities that may adversely affect the critical habitat of the species if the responsible minister, based on the advice of COSEWIC, determines that there is an imminent threat to that habitat.

Repeal of subsection (1) orders

(5) The responsible minister must repeal an emergency order made under subsection (1) when

    (a) the responsible minister determines that adequate measures have been implemented in response to the emergency designation or reclassification; or

    (b) the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, decides that no change to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk is needed in response to the emergency designation or reclassification.

Repeal of subsection (2) orders

(6) The responsible minister must repeal an emergency order made under subsection (2) when he or she determines that, under the circumstances, adequate measures have been implemented or the order is no longer needed.

Non-
application of the Statutory Instruments Act

35. Sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act do not apply to emergency orders, but each order must be included in the public registry and published in the Canada Gazette within 23 days after it is made.

Application of Prohibitions

General exceptions

36. (1) Sections 31 and 32, regulations under section 33 or 42 and emergency orders do not apply to persons who are engaging in

    (a) activities authorized by or under any other Act of Parliament for the protection of national security, safety or health, including animal and plant health;

    (b) activities in accordance with regulatory or conservation measures for wildlife species under an aboriginal treaty, land claims agreement, self-government agreement or co-management agreement that deals with wildlife species; or

    (c) activities authorized under section 46 or 47 by an agreement, permit, licence, order or similar document.

Authoriza-
tion of activities under other Acts

(2) A power under an Act described in paragraph (1)(a) may be used to authorize an activity prohibited by or under section 31, 32, 33, 34 or 42 only if the person exercising the power

    (a) determines that the activity is necessary for the protection of national security, safety or health, including animal and plant health; and

    (b) respects the purposes of this Act to the greatest extent possible.

Exemptions for activities under recovery plans

(3) Sections 31 and 32 and regulations under section 33 do not apply to persons who are engaging in activities authorized by a recovery plan.

Possession exception

(4) The prohibition against possession in subsection 31(2) does not prevent a person from possessing an individual of a listed endangered or threatened species, or any part or derivative of one, if

    (a) it was in their possession when the species was listed;

    (b) they acquired it legally in another country and imported it legally into Canada;

    (c) they acquired it by succession from someone who was entitled to possess it under this subsection; or

    (d) they are, or are acting on behalf of, a museum, zoo, educational institution, scientific society or government and they acquired it from someone who was entitled to possess it under this subsection.

Species listed at the request of a provincial minister

37. If a wildlife species is listed at the request of a provincial minister under subsection 30(3), then sections 31 and 32 and emergency orders apply in respect of that species and its habitat only in so far as individuals of that species and its habitat are found on federal land in the province of that minister.

Recovery and Management Plans

Preparation of recovery plans

38. (1) The responsible minister must prepare a recovery plan that describes the measures to be taken to protect each wildlife species that is listed as endangered, threatened or extirpated as a result of human activity and, if possible, provide for its recovery. If there is more than one responsible minister with respect to the species, they must prepare the recovery plan together.

Cooperation with other ministers and governments

(2) To the extent possible, the recovery plan must be prepared in cooperation with

    (a) the provincial minister of each province in which the wildlife species is found;

    (b) any minister of the Government of Canada who has authority over federal land or other areas on which the species is found; and

    (c) the government of any other country in which the species is found.

Time limit

(3) The recovery plan must be completed within one year after listing, if the wildlife species is listed as endangered, and within two years after listing, if it is listed as threatened or extirpated.

Determina-
tion of feasibility

(4) The responsible minister, based on the advice of COSEWIC, must determine whether the recovery of the wildlife species is technically and biologically feasible and must give notice in the public registry of the determination and the reasons for it.

Contents of recovery plan if recovery feasible

(5) If the recovery of the wildlife species is technically and biologically feasible, the recovery plan must address the threats to the survival of the species identified by COSEWIC, including loss of habitat, and must include

    (a) a description of the species and its needs, including an identification of its critical habitat;

    (b) an identification of the threats to the survival of the species;

    (c) achievable population and distribution objectives that will provide for the recovery of the species and a detailed description of the research and management activities needed to meet the objectives;

    (d) an evaluation of the costs and benefits of each research and management activity and the likelihood of its success;

    (e) a description of any broader ecosystem management and multi-species approaches that are feasible;

    (f) methods to be used to monitor the recovery of the species and its long-term viability;

    (g) a description of the measures needed to reduce or eliminate the threats to the survival of the species, including regulations needed to regulate or prohibit activities that will adversely affect the species or its critical habitat;

    (h) a mechanism for reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of the plan; and

    (i) any other information or recovery measures that the responsible minister considers appropriate.

Principles to be considered

(6) In determining the content of the recovery plan, the responsible minister must consider the commitment of the Government of Canada to conserving biological diversity and to the principle that, if there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the wildlife species, cost effective measures to prevent the reduction or loss of the species should not be postponed for a lack of full scientific certainty.

Contents of recovery plan if recovery not feasible

(7) If the recovery of the wildlife species is not technically or biologically feasible, the recovery plan must include recovery measures limited to the prohibition of activities that directly affect individuals of the species or their residences.

Consultation on recovery plans

39. The recovery plan must be prepared in consultation with

    (a) any wildlife management board that is established under aboriginal land claims legislation and is affected by the plan; and

    (b) other persons who the responsible minister considers are directly affected by, or interested in, the plan.

Publication of recovery plans

40. (1) Once the recovery plan is completed,

    (a) it must be included in the public registry; and

    (b) the responsible minister must publish a summary of the recovery plan in the Canada Gazette and invite interested persons to comment within 60 days on the plan and its implementation.

Implementa-
tion report

(2) Within 150 days after the summary is published in the Canada Gazette, the responsible minister must prepare and publish in the public registry a report on how, and within what time-frames, the Government of Canada intends to implement the measures contained in the plan.

National recovery planning agreement

41. (1) The Minister, in cooperation with the other responsible ministers, may enter into an agreement with the provincial ministers to establish a framework for national recovery planning, including the incorporation, with the approval of the Governor in Council, of a not-for-profit corporation under the Canada Corporations Act.

Authority to procure incorporation, etc.

(2) A responsible minister may procure the incorporation of the not-for-profit corporation or be a member of the corporation.

Regulations

42. (1) A responsible minister may make regulations for the purpose of implementing measures included in recovery plans that he or she has prepared.

Incorporation by reference

(2) The regulations may incorporate by reference any legislation of a province, as amended from time to time, in so far as the regulations apply in that province. They may also incorporate by reference other documents as amended from time to time.

Use of powers under other Acts

43. For the purpose of implementing the recovery plan, the responsible minister may use any powers that he or she has under any other Act of Parliament.

Monitoring implementa-
tion of recovery plans

44. A responsible minister must monitor the implementation of each recovery plan that he or she has prepared and must assess and report on its implementation within five years after the plan is included in the public registry and in each subsequent five-year period. The reports must be included in the public registry.

Management plans for vulnerable species

45. (1) Within three years after a wildlife species is listed as vulnerable, the responsible minister must prepare a management plan for the species and its critical habitat. The plan may apply with respect to more than one wildlife species and must include any measures for the conservation of the species that the responsible minister considers appropriate.

Publication of management plans

(2) Once the management plan is completed, it must be included in the public registry.

Monitoring implementa-
tion of management plans

(3) The responsible minister must monitor the implementation of the management plan and must fully assess its implementation five years after the plan comes into effect.