The ''Species at Risk Act'' (, SARA) is a piece of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

federal

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

. The goal of the ''Act'' is to prevent wildlife species in Canada from disappearing by protecting endangered or threatened organisms and their habitats. It also manages species which are not yet threatened, but whose existence or habitat is in jeopardy. SARA defines a method to determine the steps that need to be taken in order to help protect existing relatively healthy environments, as well as recover threatened habitats, although timing and implementation of recovery plans have limitations. It identifies ways in which governments, organizations, and individuals can work together to preserve species at risk and establishes penalties for failure to obey the law. The ''Act'' designates COSEWIC, an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists, to identify threatened species and assess their

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

. COSEWIC then issues a report to the government, and the Minister of the Environment evaluates the committee's recommendations when considering whether to add a species to the Schedule 1, which is the official

List of Wildlife Species at Risk As of November 2024, the List of Wildlife Species at Risk has more than 600 entries for Canadian wildlife species considered at varying risks of extinction, including 301 classified as endangered species, 147 threatened species, 200 special conc ...

, or change its status. The Minister will give the list of wildlife species at Risk to the governor in council and will take advice from the Cabinet. The Cabinet is in charge of taking the list of species into account. If a species is listed as extirpated, endangered, or threatened, SARA requires that a Recovery Strategy be prepared by the federal government, in consultation with the relevant provinces and territories, wildlife management boards, and Indigenous organizations. The Recovery Strategy describes the major threats to the species and its habitat, identifies population objectives, and in broad terms, states what will need to be done to stop or reverse the species declines. Proposed Recovery Strategies are posted on the Species at Risk Public Registry, after which public comments are accepted, generally for 60 days. 30 days after the end of the public comment period, the recovery strategy must be finalized.

Recent controversies

In July 2016, the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

issued an emergency order to stop the development of a 2 km² area on the

South Shore (Montreal) The South Shore () is the general term for the suburbs of Montreal, Quebec located on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River opposite the Island of Montreal. The South Shore is located within the Quebec administrative region of Montéré ...

, Quebec to protect the Western Chorus Frog, which by 2009 had seen a 90% decrease in its historical range. This action was opposed by the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

, who perceived it as an overstepping of provincial jurisdiction. The emergency order stopped the development of 171 new residences that had been approved by the local municipalities and by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks (Quebec). 1000 residences are still permitted to be constructed. The original approved plan included 35.5 hectares to be retained for Western Chorus Frog habitat and breeding ponds and for a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

. 87 hectares will now be set aside. On March 31, 2022 the government of Canada had decided to revamp the Species at risk act by removing outdated amendments. Bill S-6 will add modernization to the amendments of 29 status which include the species at risk act.

Recent controversies

See also

References

Further reading