Bill C-441
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
|
PUBLIC ACCESS |
|
Public registry
|
10. The Minister must establish a public
registry for the purpose of facilitating access
to documents relating to matters under this
Act.
|
|
Form and
manner of
public registry
|
11. The Minister may determine the form of
the public registry, how it is to be kept and how
access to it is to be provided.
|
|
Protection
from
proceedings
|
12. Despite any other Act of Parliament, no
civil or criminal proceedings may be brought
against any of the following persons for the
full or partial disclosure in good faith of any
notice or other document through the public
registry or any consequences of its disclosure:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CANADIAN ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSERVATION COUNCIL |
|
Establish- ment
|
13. (1) The Canadian Endangered Species
Conservation Council is established, to be
composed of the responsible ministers and
any provincial ministers who agree to attend
the meetings of the Council.
|
|
Co-chair- persons
|
(2) The Council is to be chaired jointly by
the Minister and a provincial minister chosen
by a majority of the provincial ministers who
are members of the Council.
|
|
Responsibi- lities
|
(3) The Council is responsible for
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WILDLIFE SPECIES LISTING PROCESS |
|
|
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada |
|
Establish- ment
|
14. (1) The Committee on the Status of
Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
is established to carry out its functions under
this Act solely on the basis of the best
available information on the biological status
of species at risk.
|
|
Composition
|
(2) COSEWIC is to be composed of not
more than nine members appointed by the
Minister after consulting the Council. The
Minister may also consult the Royal Society
of Canada and other expert bodies, including
those possessing traditional or community
knowledge, that, in the opinion of the
Minister, have relevant expertise.
|
|
Functions
|
(3) In addition to designating species at risk,
COSEWIC has the following functions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial and
administra- tive support
|
(4) The Minister must provide COSEWIC
with the necessary financial and
administrative support to carry out its
functions.
|
|
Qualifica- tions of members
|
15. (1) The members of COSEWIC must
have expertise drawn from a discipline such as
conservation biology, population dynamics,
taxonomy, systematics, genetics or from
traditional or community knowledge of the
protection of species at risk.
|
|
Represen- tative nature
|
(2) In appointing the members, the Minister
must consider the importance of maintaining
a membership that is broadly representative of
all regions of Canada. However, the
Minister's primary consideration in
appointing new members must be their
expertise relating to the conservation of
species at risk.
|
|
Restrictions
on
appointments
to COSEWIC
|
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the
members are not to be appointed by the
Minister as representatives of particular
regions, and the Minister must ensure that no
more than one half of the members appointed
are employees of the federal or a provincial
government.
|
|
For greater
certainty
|
(4) For greater certainty, an employee of a
university or college is not an ``employee'' for
the purposes of subsection (3).
|
|
Term of
appointment
|
(5) The members are to be appointed to hold
office during pleasure for a renewable term of
not more than three years.
|
|
Not part of the
public service
of Canada
|
(6) Appointment as a member of
COSEWIC is not an appointment to the public
service of Canada.
|
|
Exercise of
discretion to
be
independent
|
(7) Every member of COSEWIC must
exercise his or her discretion independently.
|
|
Remunera- tion and expenses
|
(8) The members are to be paid
remuneration and expenses in amounts that
the Minister may set.
|
|
Meetings
|
16. COSEWIC must meet at least once
every six months.
|
|
Subcommit- tees
|
17. COSEWIC must establish specialist
subcommittees to assist in the preparation and
review of status reports on wildlife species
considered to be at risk, and may establish
other subcommittees to advise it or to exercise
or perform any of its powers or functions. If a
species is found on lands governed by
aboriginal land claims legislation,
subcommittees must, to the greatest extent
possible, endeavour to incorporate traditional
knowledge into their work.
|
|
Rules
|
18. COSEWIC may make rules respecting
the holding of meetings and the general
conduct of its activities, including
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Designation of Species at Risk |
|
Designation
|
19. (1) COSEWIC must designate wildlife
species that it determines to be at risk and
classify them as
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basis of
determina- tion
|
(2) COSEWIC, in determining whether to
designate a wildlife species to be at risk, must
make that determination based on, among
other things, scientific and traditional
knowledge that indicates the species is at risk
and needs to be protected.
|
|
Cross- boundary species
|
(3) If the wildlife species migrates across an
international boundary of Canada or has a
range extending across such a boundary, the
designation must so indicate.
|
|
Applications
|
20. (1) Any person may apply to COSEWIC
for the designation or reclassification of a
wildlife species or the revocation of its
designation.
|
|
Information to
be included
|
(2) The application must include relevant
information about the biological status of the
species and, if possible, a status report.
|
|
Examination
of
applications
|
(3) Within ninety days after receiving the
application, COSEWIC must examine it and
inform the applicant in writing of what it has
decided to do about the application and the
reasons for its decision.
|
|
Status reports
|
21. (1) Each decision of COSEWIC about
the designation or classification of a wildlife
species must be based on a status report on the
species that COSEWIC either has had
prepared or has received with an application.
|
|
Form and
content of
status reports
|
(2) The Minister may, on the
recommendation of COSEWIC, make
regulations establishing the form and content
of the status reports, but the reports must
indicate whether the wildlife species
concerned migrates across an international
boundary of Canada or has a range extending
across such a boundary and must
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Decision with
reasons
|
22. (1) COSEWIC must make a decision
about the designation or classification of a
wildlife species within six months after it
receives a status report on the species and the
decision must be supported by reasons.
|
|
Notification
of applicant
|
(2) If the decision results from an
application, COSEWIC must notify the
applicant of the decision and the reasons.
|
|
Decision not
to designate
|
(3) COSEWIC must include the wildlife
species on a list, to be called the ``List of
Non-designated Species'', if it decides that the
species should not be designated, either
because it is not at risk or because there is not
enough information to determine whether it is
at risk.
|
|
Public registry
|
(4) The List of Non-designated Species
must be included in the public registry.
|
|
|
Emergency Designations and Reclassifications |
|
Emergency
designation or
reclassifica- tion
|
23. COSEWIC may, on an emergency basis,
designate or reclassify a wildlife species as
threatened or endangered before receiving a
status report if it has information indicating
that there is an imminent threat to the survival
of the species.
|
|
Application
for emergency
designation or
reclassifica- tion
|
24. (1) Any person may apply to COSEWIC
for an emergency designation or
reclassification of a wildlife species as
threatened or endangered. The application
must include relevant information indicating
that there is an imminent threat to the survival
of the species.
|
|
Examination
of application
|
(2) Within thirty days after receiving the
application, COSEWIC must examine it and
inform the applicant in writing of what it has
decided to do about the application and the
reasons for its decision.
|
|
Decision and
reasons
|
25. If COSEWIC decides to designate or
reclassify the wildlife species, it must give
reasons for its decision and identify the
imminent threat to the survival of the species.
If loss of habitat is an imminent threat,
COSEWIC must also identify the habitat that
is critical to the survival of the species.
|
|
Status report
and final
decision
|
26. Within eighteen months after making an
emergency designation or reclassification,
COSEWIC must have a status report on the
species prepared and make a final decision on
whether it should be designated or
reclassified.
|
|
|
Publication |
|
Documents in
public registry
|
27. The following documents must be
included in the public registry:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restriction
|
28. The Minister, on the advice of
COSEWIC, may restrict the release of any
information in a status report required to be
included in the public registry if that
information relates to the location of a species
or its habitat, and restricting its release would
be in the best interests of the species.
|
|
|
Reviews and Reports |
|
Review of
designations
and
classifications
|
29. COSEWIC must review the designation
and classification of each species at risk at
least once every ten years, or more frequently
if it has reason to believe that the status of the
species has changed significantly.
|
|
Reports to
Council
|
30. When COSEWIC makes a decision
about the designation or classification of a
wildlife species, COSEWIC must report the
decision to the members of the Council.
|
|
Annual
reports
|
31. As soon as practicable after the end of
each year, COSEWIC must report to the
Council on its activities during that year.
|
|
|
List of Wildlife Species at Risk |
|
Notice of
response to
designation,
etc.
|
32. (1) Where COSEWIC designates a
wildlife species, changes its classification or
revokes a designation, the Minister shall,
within sixty days thereof, amend the List of
Wildlife Species at Risk accordingly and give
notice of the amendment in the public registry.
|
|
Listing at
request of a
provincial
minister
|
(2) The Governor in Council, on the
recommendation of the Minister, may include
a wildlife species on the List if a provincial
minister designates it as a species at risk, asks
that it be listed and agrees to participate in the
preparation of a recovery plan for the species.
|
|
Public registry
|
(3) The List must be included in the public
registry.
|
|