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Bill C-5

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RECOMMENDATION

Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled ``An Act respecting the protection of wildlife species at risk in Canada''.

SUMMARY

The purposes of this enactment are to prevent Canadian indigenous species, subspecies and distinct populations of wildlife from becoming extirpated or extinct, to provide for the recovery of endangered or threatened species, to encourage the management of other species to prevent them from becoming at risk.

This enactment establishes the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as an independent body of experts responsible for assessing and identifying species at risk. It provides that COSEWIC's assessments are to be reported to the Minister of the Environment and to the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council and it authorizes the Governor in Council to establish by regulation the official list of species at risk based on that process.

It requires that the best available knowledge be used to define long and short-term objectives in a recovery strategy for endangered and threatened species and it provides for action plans to identify specific actions.

It creates prohibitions to protect listed threatened and endangered species and their critical habitat.

It recognizes that compensation may be needed to ensure fairness following the imposition of the critical habitat prohibitions.

It creates a public registry to assist in making documents under the Act more accessible to the public.

It is consistent with Aboriginal and treaty rights and respects the authority of other federal ministers and provincial governments.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Canada Wildlife Act

Clause 134: New.

Clause 135: New.

Clause 136: (1) and (2) The relevant portion of section 12 reads as follows:

12. The Governor in Council may make regulations

    (a) prohibiting entry, generally or for any specified period or purpose, of any person on lands under the administration of the Minister or on any part of those lands;

    . . .

    (i) prescribing measures for the conservation of wildlife

      (i) on public lands the administration of which has been assigned to the Minister pursuant to subsection 4(1), or

      (ii) in any protected marine areas established pursuant to subsection 4.1(1); and

    (j) respecting the establishment of facilities or the construction, maintenance and operation of works for wildlife research, conservation and interpretation

      (i) on public lands the administration of which has been assigned to the Minister pursuant to subsection 4(1), or

      (ii) in any protected marine areas established pursuant to subsection 4.1(1).

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

Clause 137: The relevant portion of the definition ``environmental effect'' in subsection 2(1) reads as follows:

``environmental effect'' means, in respect of a project,

      (a) any change that the project may cause in the environment, including any effect of any such change on health and socio-economic conditions, on physical and cultural heritage, on the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposes by aboriginal persons, or on any structure, site or thing that is of historical, archaeological, paleontological or architectural significance, and

Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994

Clause 138: New.

Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act

Clause 139: New.

Clause 140: The relevant portion of subsection 21(1) reads as follows:

    (c) amending the definitions ``animal'' and ``plant''

      . . .

      (iv) for the purposes of section 7, in order to protect species of animals and plants in a province, other than those species that are subject to the legislative authority of Parliament, at the request of the minister who is responsible for the protection of wild animal or plant species of the government of the province;

Clause 141: New.

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