Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 28(1) of the Act: SI/2019-72

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 153, Number 15

Registration
SI/2019-72 July 24, 2019

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 28(1) of the Act

P.C. 2019-1056 July 9, 2019

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, acknowledges receipt, on the making of this Order, of the assessments done pursuant to subsection 28(1) of the Species at Risk Act footnote a by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) with respect to the species set out in the annexed schedule.

SCHEDULE

Endangered Species

Fish

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Order acknowledges receipt by the Governor in Council (GiC) of the emergency assessments with respect to Steelhead Trout, Thompson River population, and Steelhead Trout, Chilcotin River population (Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead), done by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in accordance with subsection 28(4) of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Objective

The objective of this Order is for the GiC, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, to acknowledge receipt of the emergency assessments done pursuant to subsection 28(4) of SARA by COSEWIC with respect to the wildlife species set out in the annexed schedule to the Order.

Background

The purpose of SARA is to prevent wildlife species from being extirpated or becoming extinct; to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered, or threatened as a result of human activity; and to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened. COSEWIC was established under section 14 of SARA, and its functions are set out in section 15 of SARA. COSEWIC provides the Minister of the Environment with assessments of the status of wildlife species that it considers to be at risk.

In early 2018, following record low returns of spawning fish in fall 2017, COSEWIC conducted an emergency assessment of the Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead populations for the purposes of having them listed on an emergency basis under SARA. The emergency assessment by COSEWIC resulted in both populations being classified as endangered.

Implications

The two aquatic species that are the subject of the Order are species with respect to which the Minister of the Environment has formed an opinion of imminent threat to their survival. As a result, the Minister of the Environment must, on an emergency basis, and after consultation with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, recommend to the GiC that the List of Wildlife Species at Risk set out in Schedule 1 to SARA (the List) be amended to list Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead as endangered, in accordance with subsection 29(1).

Under subsection 27(3) of SARA, if the GiC has not taken a course of action under subsection 27(1.1) of SARA within nine months after receiving an assessment of the status of a species by COSEWIC, the Minister of the Environment must, by order, amend the List in accordance with COSEWIC’s assessment.

Consultation

Consultations were held with Indigenous groups, key stakeholders and members of the public in 2018.

Should the GiC decide to list Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead Trout, these consultations will be summarized in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement that will accompany the Order amending Schedule 1 of SARA.

Departmental contact

Julie Stewart
Director
Species at Risk Program
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Email: SARA_LEP@dfo-mpo.gc.ca