Continued modernization of the Migratory Birds Regulations

Migratory bird welfare, public safety, certain projects and activities

This regulatory initiative would provide regulatory certainty by introducing new permits and exemptions for important activities that pose a low risk to migratory birds. These changes would help address the following situations.

Migratory bird welfare: Hazing and euthanasia

• Hazing (or scaring) migratory birds to keep them away from environmental emergencies such as oil spills or other hazards
• Animal welfare situations where severely injured, sick, or contaminated (for example, by an oil spill) migratory birds cannot be rehabilitated and may need to be humanely killed or euthanized to prevent further suffering

Public safety, health, and national security

• Activities associated with public safety, health, and national security, such as:
  • wildfire response
  • maintaining critical infrastructure
  • search and rescue operations

Projects and activities

• Projects of national interest identified under the Building Canada Act
• Projects that have little impact on migratory bird populations (called “de minimis” projects)

Sale of feathers by Indigenous Peoples

• Sale of feathers by Indigenous Peoples exercising rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982

Incidental take and permit fee updates

This regulatory initiative would:

• create a permitting regime for incidental take of migratory birds
• update the fee structure for permits issued under the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022

Incidental take permitting regime

Incidental take is when someone unintentionally harms or kills a migratory bird or destroys their nest while doing another legal activity.

The main goal of developing an incidental take permitting regime is to conserve migratory birds and their populations, while providing regulatory certainty for some activities. Filling this regulatory gap has been a longstanding concern for stakeholders.

Permit fee updates

The proposal would update the existing fees for permits such as:

• Aviculture permits
• Taxidermy permits
• Eiderdown permits

And would introduce new fees for other types of permits, including:

• Damage or Danger permits
• Airport permits
• Scientific permits
• Incidental Take permits

These fees would help recover the costs of migratory birds’ conservation efforts and running the permitting program.

Consultations for the continued modernization of the Migratory Birds Regulations

Targeted consultations in 2023

In 2023, the Government of Canada gathered early feedback from various stakeholders and from section 35 rights holders (hereafter Indigenous Peoples) on a possible regulatory regime for incidental take. Listening sessions brought forward diverse views.

Summary of the listening sessions:

• 15 sessions with 87 representatives from industry, non-government organizations, academia, and government officials at the federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal levels
• Three sessions with Indigenous Peoples, including representatives from 37 communities or organizations
• Overall, the participants said the future regulatory regime for incidental take should follow these principles:
  • risk-based
  • streamlined
  • transparent
  • low administrative burden

Indigenous Peoples and organization representatives supported and/or emphasized:

• a permitting regime that aims to promote migratory bird conservation, Indigenous rights, and minimize unnecessary burden
• a holistic approach that recognizes the role of migratory birds in biodiversity and the necessity of protecting their habitat
• ensure the permitting regime would not impact harvesting rights and traditional food sources
• involvement of Indigenous Peoples at every stage of developing the regulations
• need for stronger legal enforcement
• have meaningful thresholds and consider cumulative effects, limit the number of permits issued and overall allowable take in a given area

Non-governmental organizations and academics supported and/or emphasized:

• the process should be simple and based on risk
• the permitting regime should benefit migratory bird conservation
• must enforce the new regime, and hold permit holders accountable to follow the conditions of their permits

Industrial sectors supported and/or wanted:

• a risk-based approach, for example, to allow general exemptions for low-risk activities and require permits for higher-risk activities
• recognition of their actions towards conservation
• alignment with other federal/municipal regulations and the United States
• more guidance documents and best management practices approved by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Governments (federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal levels) supported and/or wanted:

• a regime with a low financial and administrative burden
• possibility to provide comments on permit applications and permits issued within their jurisdiction
• more guidance documents and best management practices approved by ECCC

Targeted consultations in 2025 and 2026

Between summer 2025 and early 2026, the Government of Canada gathered feedback from stakeholders on continued efforts to modernize the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022.

Summary of the listening sessions:

• 18 sessions with 93 representatives from industrial sectors, non-government organizations, and federal government officials
• Overall, the participants said the future regulatory regimes should follow these principles:
  • risk-based and proportional to the impacts on migratory birds
  • streamlined and predictable
  • transparent and clearly scoped
  • low administrative and financial burden
  • focused on population-level conservation outcomes for migratory birds
  • aligned with existing legislation, best management practices, and audit systems

Summary of comments received – Migratory bird welfare, public safety, certain projects and activities

Non-governmental organizations supported and/or emphasized:

• caution that, if not clearly defined, there could be misuse of public safety emergency exemptions and other project authorizations
• strong need for clear conditions and reporting for exemptions and permits
• concerns about the cumulative effects of multiple projects that have each been identified as having minimal impacts on migratory birds (de minimis projects)
• need for scientific clarity on what qualifies as “negligible impact” for certain projects and activities

Industrial sectors supported and/or emphasized:

• opportunities for clearly defined public safety emergency response exemptions, including for wildfire response, utility outages, infrastructure failures, spill response, and environmental cleanup
• ensuring that public safety emergency situations do not require pre-approval as cannot delay response activities
• allowing non-emergency public safety response activities (such as vegetation management for wildfire prevention) to proceed under certain conditions
• clearly defined categories for projects and activities with minimal impacts on migratory birds
• developing risk thresholds based on impacts to bird populations rather than on individual nests
• opportunities to improve welfare outcomes for migratory birds by authorizing non-lethal hazing and, where necessary, euthanasia of severely injured migratory birds
• need for activity-based exemptions instead of project-by-project approvals
• access to practical, field-ready tools such as best management practices

Federal government officials supported and/or emphasized:

• explicit criteria for determining public safety situations, including emergencies
• clearly defined thresholds for project and activities that have minimal impacts on migratory birds (de minimis projects)
• opportunities to be aware of exemptions and authorized activities within their jurisdiction (for example, Parks Canada)
• need for avoiding duplication with existing emergency management, FireSmart, and provincial regulatory systems related to public safety
• prioritize regulatory compliance promotion over enforcement during implementation
• need for practical guidance (such as best management practices) for crews working in the field

Summary of comments received – Incidental take permitting regime

Non-governmental organizations supported and/or emphasized:

• requirements for delivering a net benefit for migratory birds through monitoring, data collection, conservation offsets, and by directing fees toward conservation and mitigation
• need to address major causes of indirect mortality such as building collisions, powerlines, and communication towers
• using a phased approach to support efficient implementation
• having a consistent management approach with the U.S. that takes inspiration from their incidental take permitting regime for Golden Eagle

Industrial sectors supported and/or emphasized:

• implementing a tiered, risk-based system that allows:
  • self-assessment and exemptions for low-risk activities
  • conditional authorizations for medium-risk activities
  • full permits for high-risk activities
• avoiding nest-by-nest permitting or one-permit-per-activity approaches to reduce administrative burden
• opportunities for landscape-scale authorizations based on activity-based permitting rather than industry-based permitting
• recognizing existing best management practices, auditing systems, and certification systems as potential compliance tools
• implementing permitting fee structures that are risk-based and limited to cost recovery
• avoiding duplication with other legislation (such as the Species at Risk Act or the Fisheries Act), provincial permitting systems, and forestry auditing systems
• leveraging existing auditing systems where feasible

Federal government officials supported and/or emphasized:

• implementing a system that is fully enforceable but focused on activities that are of high risk to migratory bird conservation
• using data and reporting in order to assess the cumulative effects on migratory bird populations
• digitizing permitting and reporting platforms across agencies (such as Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, provinces and territories)
• using audit systems that promote fairness across sectors and avoid duplicating existing regulatory systems and programs

Broad consultations, Canada Gazette pre-publication and public comment periods

ECCC will continue to refine its approach based on feedback gathered during consultations so far.

Broader pre-regulatory consultations are planned to happen in phases, with Notices of Intent anticipated to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I as follows:

• migratory bird welfare: early 2026
• public safety, health, and national security: early 2026
• certain projects and activities: early 2026
• incidental take and permit fees: late 2026 to early 2027

The regulatory proposal on migratory bird welfare, public safety, and certain projects and activities is expected to be pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, in late fall 2026 for a 30-day public comment period.

The regulatory proposal for the incidental take permitting regime is expected to be pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, for a 60-day public comment period, no earlier than 2027.

Biennial hunting amendments (2026 to 2028)

The proposed amendments would adjust some season dates, bag and possession limits by province and territory for migratory game bird hunting in Canada. These changes help achieve conservation goals while allowing recreational migratory game bird hunting in Canada.

The migratory game bird hunting provisions undergo a review and are updated every two years. However, ECCC reviews the status of migratory game birds every year and can make urgent changes if needed.

Consultations and Canada Gazette publication

ECCC consults widely on hunting regulations with many stakeholders and partners. The proposed regulatory amendment proposals are available in the document Proposals to Amend the Canadian Migratory Birds Regulation, 2026.

The public consultation period was from January 17 to February 15, 2026.

The final amendments are expected to be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, in spring 2026.

For more information

If you have questions on the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022 or the regulatory initiatives currently underway, please contact Enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca.