Skip to main content

Bill C-295

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

PDF

MEASURES TO PROTECT LISTED SPECIES

Prohibitions

Killing, disturbing, harming etc., listed species

33. (1) No person shall kill, harm, disturb, harass, capture or take an individual of a listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species, or attempt to do so.

Possession, collection

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

Damage or destruction of residence

34. No person shall damage, destroy or disturb

    (a) the residence of an individual or the population of a listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species; or

    (b) the critical habitat of a listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species.

Declaration of equivalent provisions

35. (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), if the Minister and a provincial minister agree in writing that there are, in force by or under the laws of the province, provisions equivalent to sections 33, 34 and 50 and that these provisions are being diligently enforced, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make an order declaring that sections 33, 34 and 50 do not apply in that province in relation to species protected by the equivalent provisions.

Publication of agreements

(2) Before entering into the agreement, the Minister must make a draft of the agreement public by including it in the public registry.

Comments

(3) Any person may file comments with the Minister within sixty days after the publication of the draft agreement.

Publication by the Minister of results

(4) After the end of the period of sixty days, the Minister must include in the public registry a report that summarizes how any comments were dealt with.

Termination of agreement and repeal of order

(5) The agreement may be terminated by either party giving to the other at least six months notice of termination, in which case the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister, must repeal the order.

Public registry

(6) Orders under this section must be included in the public registry.

Report to Parliament

(7) The Minister shall include in the annual report required by section 104 a report on the administration and enforcement of subsections (1) to (6).

Emergency Orders

Order based on emergency designation or classification

36. (1) The responsible minister must make an emergency order providing for the protection of a wildlife species within thirty days after COSEWIC designates or reclassifies the species as endangered or threatened on an emergency basis. The order shall include provisions regulating or prohibiting activities that may adversely affect the species, its residence or its critical habitat.

Order based on designation or classification

(2) The responsible minister must make an emergency order providing for the protection of a wildlife species that COSEWIC has designated or reclassified as endangered or threatened if, prior to the implementation of a recovery plan, COSEWIC determines that the species faces imminent threats to its survival that are not addressed by the application of section 33 or 34. The order must include provisions regulating or prohibiting activities that may adversely affect the species or its habitat and shall remain in effect until a recovery plan for the species has been implemented or the responsible minister determines that adequate measures have been implemented to remove any imminent threats to the species or its habitat.

Order based on inadequate recovery plan, etc.

(3) 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

(4) If the responsible minister is the Minister of Canadian Heritage or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, he or she must notify the Minister before making an order under subsection (3).

Provisions for the protection of habitat

(5) 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) order

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

    (a) COSEWIC determines that an emergency designation or reclassification of the wildlife species is no longer required; or

    (b) COSEWIC makes a final decision about the designation or reclassification of the species under section 26, and the List of Wildlife Species at Risk is amended to reflect that decision.

Repeal of subsection (2) order

(7) The responsible minister must repeal an emergency order made under subsection (2) when a revised recovery plan that, in the responsible minister's opinion, adequately protects the species has been developed and implemented or when he or she determines that, under the circumstances, the order is no longer needed.

Non-applicati on of the Statutory Instruments Act

37. 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 twenty-three days after it is made.

Equivalent measures

38. A responsible minister is not required to make an emergency order if he or she is of the opinion that equivalent measures have been taken to protect the wildlife species under another Act of Parliament.

Application of Prohibitions

General exceptions

39. (1) Sections 33 and 34, regulations under section 45 and emergency orders do not apply to persons who are engaging in

    (a) emergency 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 endangered species under an aboriginal treaty, land claims agreement, self-government agreement or co-management agreement that deals with endangered species;

    (c) activities authorized under section 50 or 51 by an agreement, permit, licence, order or similar document; or

    (d) activities that are reasonably required to address an immediate threat to human life or safety.

Authorization 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 33, 34, 36 or 45 only if the person exercising the power

    (a) determines that the activity is necessary to address an immediate threat to 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 33 and 36 do not apply to persons who are engaging in activities authorized by a recovery plan and a regulation under section 45.

Possession exception

(4) The prohibition against possession in subsection 33(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;

    (d) they acquired it under circumstances that would afford them a defence under section 83 and they possess it only for as long as is necessary to donate it to a museum, zoo, educational institution, scientific society or government; or

    (e) 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

40. If a wildlife species is listed at the request of a provincial minister under subsection 32(2), then sections 33 and 34 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

41. (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.

Co-operation with other ministers and governments

(2) To the extent possible, the recovery plan must be prepared in co-operation 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;

    (c) any wildlife management board that is established under aboriginal land claims legislation if the wildlife species is found on land that is governed by the legislation; and

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

Aboriginal land claims agreement

(3) If the wildlife species is found on land that is subject to an aboriginal land claims agreement, the recovery plan must be prepared in accordance with any applicable provisions of the agreement.

Time limit

(4) 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.

Determination of feasibility

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

Contents of recovery plan if recovery feasible

(6) If the recovery of the wildlife species is technically and biologically possible, 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, that is consistent with and builds upon the information provided by COSEWIC;

    (b) an identification of the threats to the survival of the species that is consistent with and builds upon the information provided by COSEWIC;

    (c) 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 multispecies 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 prohibiting activities that will adversely affect the species or its critical habitat;

    (h) recommendations on agreements that may be negotiated under section 7 or 9 to promote co-operative efforts for the protection and recovery of the species and its habitat;

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

    (j) recommendations for addressing the health and safety of workers affected by the plan; and

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

Principles to be considered

(7) 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

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

Consultation on recovery plans

42. The recovery plan must be prepared in consultation with any persons who the responsible minister considers are directly affected by or interested in the plan.

Publication of recovery plans

43. (1) Within thirty days after 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 thirty days on the plan and its implementation.

Implementatio n report

(2) Within one hundred and twenty 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.

Obligation of federal departments, etc.

(3) A federal government department, agency or Crown corporation must not take or authorize any action that will contravene a recovery plan and must implement obligations set out in a recovery plan that are applicable to it.

National recovery planning agreement

44. (1) The Minister, in co-operation 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

45. (1) Within one hundred and twenty days after a recovery plan is completed or amended, a responsible minister shall make regulations for the purpose of implementing regulatory measures included in the recovery plan that he or she has prepared, including regulations prohibiting activities that adversely affect a species' critical habitat.

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

46. 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 implementatio n of recovery plans

47. 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.

Mandatory amendment of recovery plan

48. The responsible minister must amend a recovery plan if he or she determines that the plan is no longer adequate to protect the species or provide for its recovery.

Management plans for vulnerable species

49. (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. The management plan must be prepared in co-operation with any wildlife management board that is established under aboriginal land claims legislation and is affected by the plan.

Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page