Unearthed federal memo spells bad news for at-risk species

WWF

I’m going to write about peregrines and screech owls and tiny western toads.  A uniquely Canadian menagerie of fur, feather and fin—they all share something in common.  They are all species at-risk.  And their chances of survival just got a whole lot dimmer.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) at the surface in Douglas Channel, British Columbia, Canada. © Tim Irvin / WWF-Canada

 
I’m sorry for breaking my promise.  As it turns out, this is a blog about legislation.  But it’s pretty hard these days to write about the wildlife that inspires our work without talking about the changing laws that are making that work harder.
You see, what’s been revealed in a just-made-public letter that hit headlines yesterday is that—two years ago—scientists at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans warned Environment Canada that the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project would pose a direct threat to 15 different at-risk species in the region.  Species—including caribou, screech owls, and western toads—that are listed under Canada’s Species At Risk Act (SARA).  If that letter had taken into consideration the risk of oil tanker ships (which, apparently, other federal documents do), the list of species would’ve been a lot longer, including whales, sea otters, and fish.
We have laws like SARA for a reason.  And one of those reasons is to send up big, red flags when a development project—or another human activity—threatens the recovery of species that are struggling to survive.  But this week, as our Parliament passed Bill-C38, they pulled some important teeth out of SARA.  They made the Act weaker and easier to get around.  And, as a result, those creatures—which are now even more “at risk” due to proposed major crude oil pipelines and the massive tanker ships that will carry that oil overseas—can no longer count on our government to protect them.  Not in the way it once did.
And that means the screech owl and the humpback whale, the caribou and the sea otter, are going to have to count on us.  On you.
So maybe this isn’t a blog about legislation after all.  I think, actually, it’s a blog about people, and our connection to the species we value and treasure.  It’s about recognizing that these species need us now, more than ever.  And it’s about standing up to the challenge—for their sake and our own.
To become a voice for the at-risk species of the Great Bear region, join us today.  Become a Canadian for the Great Bear. Help us write a better story.