Ten new species will be added to Canada’s Vulnerable Species Registry, a list that has grown by a staggering 350% since entry into force. The Endangered Species Act In 2003.
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced Saturday in the Official Gazette his intention to add 10 new species to the endangered species registry.
Among the issues raised, the Minister notes that “biodiversity is rapidly declining in all parts of the world with the disappearance of some species.” It is now said that the rate of extinction is “1,000 to 10,000 times the natural rate”.
Since 2003, the country’s list of endangered species has increased from 233 to 800. 41 species have since disappeared. Plants, freshwater fish, marine fish, and birds are among the most endangered species in Canada.
Among those that have been added one finds, among others, the Caribou, the inhabitants of Newfoundland.
The minister also recommends reviewing the status of five species, including the Blanding turtle, which will go from threatened to endangered. Remember that all species of freshwater turtles in the country are threatened with extinction.
There is a 30-day consultation period before the final list is approved. Once a species is added to Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Act, the federal government has one year to produce a restoration strategy for endangered species and two years in the case of endangered species.
In the case of many species, Ottawa did not respect these deadlines. One of the most recent cases is that of the red copperfish, a fish unique in the world that can only be found in Quebec.
Canada has over 300 endemic species that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet. Two hundred of them are threatened with disappearing.
The most endemic species in the country are found in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.