COSEWIC assessments for 13 species acknowledged

Summary#

This is the Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act: SI/2022-26, published in the Canada Gazette on May 25, 2022. It records that COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) has submitted assessments under the Species at Risk Act, covering 13 terrestrial species and starts the next step toward possible changes to their legal protection.

What it does#

• Acknowledges receipt, by the Governor in Council and on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, of COSEWIC’s assessments for 13 species.
• Breaks those assessments down as 9 proposed additions to Schedule 1, 3 proposed reclassifications of species already on the list, and 1 proposed scientific-name change.
• Lists the species assessed (examples include Peary Caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), Karner Blue (Plebejus samuelis), and Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)).
• Does not itself change the legal status of any species. Instead it triggers the next steps: the Minister will publish a proposed Listing Order and a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for public comment for 30 days.
• Explains the decision options for the Governor in Council: accept the assessments and amend the list, decide not to add a species, or refer the assessment back to COSEWIC. If the GIC does not decide within 9 months (except for reclassifications), the Minister must amend the List in line with COSEWIC’s recommendation.

Who's affected#

• People and groups working on conservation: environmental NGOs, researchers, and recovery planners.
• Governments and managers: federal, provincial, territorial wildlife and land managers.
• Landowners, developers, and industries (forestry, mining, agriculture, infrastructure) in areas where the listed species occur.
• Indigenous peoples with rights or interests in areas where these species live.
• The general public may be affected indirectly through changes to land use rules, conservation programs, or funding priorities.

If it’s unclear whether a particular person or activity will be affected, the upcoming proposed Listing Order and its Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement will give more detail.

Why it matters#

• This Order is the formal start of the federal process that can lead to legal protection or changes in protection for these species. Those protections can affect land use, permits, and conservation funding in places where the species live.
• Reclassifying a species (for example the proposed change for Peary Caribou) can change recovery priorities and management approaches.
• The scientific-name change (for the Karner Blue) is mainly a technical update and does not, by itself, change protection.
• Public comments (the government reports it received 53 opinions during earlier consultations, with 3 opposed to some listings) will be considered before final decisions are made.