Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act: SI/2021-6

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 4

Registration
SI/2021-6 February 17, 2021

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act

P.C. 2021-34 February 5, 2021

His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada 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 23(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

Amphibians
Reptiles
Molluscs
Lichens

Threatened Species

Reptiles
Arthropods
Plants

Special Concern

Mammals
Reptiles
Arthropods
Plants

Mosses

Lichens

Removal of a Listed Species

Arthropods

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order acknowledges receipt of the assessments from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) regarding the status of 17 wildlife species under paragraph 15(1)(a) and in accordance with subsection 23(1) of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

Objective

The objective of this Order is to acknowledge that the Office of the Governor in Council (Office of the GIC), on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, has received the COSEWIC assessments.

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 formed as an independent scientific body in 1977 with a mandate to provide a single, official, scientifically sound, national classification of wildlife species at risk in Canada. The Committee provides the Minister of the Environment with assessments of the status of Canadian wildlife species.

Implications

Of the 17 COSEWIC assessments of wildlife species included in this Order, 11 are new assessments and 5 are reclassifications of species already on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk (the List) under SARA. In addition, COSEWIC is recommending the removal of one species from the List.

In response to these assessments, the Minister of the Environment will propose a second order (the Listing Order) which will include a recommendation to the Office of the GIC to amend the List in accordance with COSEWIC's recommended designations for the species. The proposed Listing Order will be published, along with a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS), in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for a 30-day public comment period.

The Minister of the Environment will take into consideration comments and any additional information received following publication of the proposed Listing Order and the RIAS in the Canada Gazette, Part I. The Minister will then make a final listing recommendation for each species to the Office of the GIC. The Office of the GIC can (a) accept the assessment and add the species to the List contained in Schedule 1 to SARA; (b) decide not to add the species to the List; or (c) refer the matter back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration.

Should the Office of the GIC not give its decision within nine months, the Minister of the Environment shall, by order, amend the List in accordance with COSEWIC's recommended designation for the species.

Consultations

Initial consultations were held with Indigenous peoples, interested stakeholders and members of the public between January 2016 and October 2016 for one species (extended consultations), between January 2017 and May 2017 for 3 species, and between January 2018 and May 2018 for 13 species.

These consultations will be summarized in the RIAS that will accompany the proposed Order Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act.

Contact

Paula Brand
Director
Species at Risk Act Policy and Regulatory Affairs
Canada Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 1‑800‑668‑6767
Email: ec.LEPreglementations-SARAregulations.ec@canada.ca

Annex I — Seventeen terrestrial species assessments by COSEWIC and received by the Office of the Governor in Council

Table 1: Minister's receipt of COSEWIC assessments of one species — October 2015
Taxon Species Scientific name Range Action Status / Status change
Mammals Caribou (Newfoundland population) Rangifer tarandus NL Addition Special concern
Table 2: Minister's receipt of COSEWIC assessments of 3 species — October 2016
Taxon Species Scientific name Range Action Status / Status change
Amphibians Unisexual Ambystoma (Small-mouthed Salamander dependent population) Ambystoma laterale - texanum ON Addition Endangered
Unisexual Ambystoma (Jefferson Salamander dependent population) Ambystoma laterale - (2) jeffersonianum ON Addition Endangered
Arthropods Lake Huron Grasshopper Trimerotropis huroniana ON Addition Special concern
Table 3: Minister's receipt of COSEWIC assessments of 13 species — October 2017
Taxon Species Scientific name Range Action Status / Status change
Arthropods Magdalen Islands Grasshopper Melanoplus madeleineae QC Addition Special concern
Transverse Lady Beetle Coccinella transversoguttata All provinces and territories Addition Special concern
Sonora Skipper Polites sonora BC Removal Special concern to not at risk
Lichens Golden-eye Lichen (Great Lakes population) Teloschistes chrysophthalmus ON Addition Endangered
Golden-eye Lichen (Prairie / Boreal population) Teloschistes chrysophthalmus ON, MB Addition Special concern
Molluscs Eastern Banded Tigersnail Anguispira kochi kochi ON Addition Endangered
Mosses Rusty Cord-moss Entosthodon rubiginosus BC, SK Reclassification Endangered to special concern
Reptiles Bullsnake Pituophis catenifer sayi AB, SK Addition Special concern
Blanding's Turtle (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence population) Emydoidea blandingii ON, QC Reclassification Threatened to endangered
Western Painted Turtle (Pacific Coast population) Chrysemys picta bellii BC Reclassification Endangered to threatened
Vascular plants Long's Bulrush Scirpus longii NS Addition Special concern
Spotted Wintergreen Chimaphila maculata ON, QC Reclassification Endangered to threatened
Anticosti Aster Symphyotrichum anticostense QC, NB Reclassification Threatened to special concern