Five former chairs of a panel that advises the federal government on endangered wildlife have published an open letter highlighting concerns over proposed changes to the Species At Risk Act, which they say could lead to the “wilful extinction” of endangered species in Canada.
More than 600 species are listed under the legislation. Changes the government is considering would render the act — and the protection it provides — “meaningless,” according to a press release written by the scientists last week.
The scientists, former chairs of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), sent the letter to the federal government last month. COSEWIC is an independent advisory panel that assesses species at risk of extinction and makes recommendations to list them under endangered species law.
The scientists opted to make the letter public so that Canadians could avoid being “complicit in the wilful extinction of Canadian Wildlife Species,” according to the press release.
The letter comes as the Carney government considers sweeping changes to environmental regulations, including the Species At Risk Act, it says would allow for quicker approval and construction of major projects.
The future of ‘jeopardy tests’
In May, two federal discussion papers proposed the approval of major projects before review and exempting certain projects from the “jeopardy test” required under the law, if they’re deemed to be in the national interest.
“This is a sledgehammer to the law. It’s not necessary,” said David Green, a biologist and professor emeritus at McGill University who is one of the former COSEWIC chairs behind the letter.
Jeopardy tests prohibit Ottawa from authorizing projects that would harm species listed under the act and their critical habitats if they would jeopardize their survival. These jeopardy tests are essential to protecting endangered species, according to Green.
“[Jeopardy tests] are the final hurdle. It’s the last-ditch protection for things that really need to be protected.”
The proposed changes would also give Carney and his cabinet the ability to establish “federal economic zones” where they could then pre-approve industrial development. Cabinet would also gain the power to pre-approve pipelines before a route is established and exempt them from federal impact assessments.
Bill C-5 currently allows projects deemed in the national interest to have their approval process, including environmental assessments, fast-tracked.
The letter mentions a new West Coast oil pipeline, which is currently being considered as a project of national interest, specifically. The proposed pipeline would carry approximately one million barrels of crude oil a day along roughly 1,250 kilometres using a corridor similar to the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, according to the Alberta government.
This would be detrimental to multiple species listed under the act, including the southern resident killer whale — also known as Orcas — and the Chinook salmon, the whale’s main food source, according to the scientists.
Both species and their critical habitats exist in the Salish Sea, a network of coastal waterways in southern B.C., where the proposed West Coast pipeline would end.
“If deemed in the national interest, the currently conceived West Coast pipeline could decimate the entire population of the imperilled killer whales through time both directly via increased tanker traffic noise and indirectly via significant destruction of habitat needed for the whales’ main prey,” the scientists wrote.
“Are Canadians willing to bet this unique population of killer whales against another oil pipeline?”
There are 75 southern resident killer whales in the world.
An ‘extraordinary’ precedent
Green said he’s shocked the Liberal government is proposing these changes.
“It surprises me because the Species At Risk Act was such an important thing to do for a Liberal government 25 years ago.… And now we have a Liberal government that wants to, you know, stab it to death.”
Kathryn Harrison, a UBC professor who specializes in climate and energy politics, believes that through Bill C-5 and other changes under consideration, the government is setting an “extraordinary” precedent.
“It’s a pretty extraordinary thing to pass new legislation that not only allows the government to waive application of those laws, but gives the government a certain amount of authority to add new laws,” she said.
“Rather than going through Parliament and amending those laws, they’re passing a new law saying, ‘we’re not worried about that anymore.'”
The scientists hadn’t received a government response to their letter at the time of this article’s publication.
The Privy Council Office said the government is “committed to the conservation and recovery of species at risk and to meeting obligations under the Species at Risk Act,” in an emailed statement to CBC News.
The federal government has justified the potential changes by arguing Canada needs to fast-track projects that strengthen the economy and diversify exports away from the U.S., amid the ongoing trade war between the two countries.
The Privy Council Office didn’t confirm whether they’ve received the open letter, but said there’s been no decision regarding changes to the Species At Risk Act. The email also said the government will release a report highlighting feedback from all Canadians before summer ends.
Following criticism from First Nations and environmental groups, the government extended the public engagement period, which ended last month.
Formal legislation is expected after Parliament resumes in September. Green is cautioning the government to reconsider.
“If you eliminate species from Canada, they’re not coming back,” he said.
