Species at Risk Act annual report for 2019: chapter 3

3. Listing of species at risk

3.1 Listing process

The listing process refers to the addition (or non-addition), the reclassification, or the removal of a species from Schedule 1. Once the Minister receives the COSEWIC assessment, the Minister has 90 days to post a response statement on the Species at Risk Public Registry indicating how they intend on responding to each assessment and, if possible, providing timelines for action.

The Government of Canada has a duty to consult and, where appropriate, accommodate Indigenous groups when actions might adversely impact potential or established Aboriginal or Treaty Rights. Therefore, during this 90-day period, the relevant competent minister carries out an internal review to determine the level of public, stakeholders and Indigenous consultation required. The relevant competent minister also conducts the socio-economic analysis necessary to inform the listing decision. Timelines for action and the scope of consultations included in the response statement are based on the results of this initial review.

All of the species that COSEWIC assessed as being at risk prior to October 1999 were included at proclamation on SARA’s Schedule 2 (endangered and threatened) and Schedule 3 (special concern). COSEWIC reassesses these species using current criteria as part of the process to determine if they should be considered for the addition to Schedule 1. All Schedule 2 species have since been reassessed by COSEWIC. For Schedule 3, taxonomy for the four remaining species needs to be clarified before they can be reassessed by COSEWIC.

Figure 1 outlines the species listing process under SARA. Table 2 (see section 3.4) provides the status of the listing process for each batch of assessed species.

Note: More information can be found on the SARA Public Registry.

Prior to undertaking public, stakeholders and Indigenous consultations and socio-economic analyses, DFO develops science advice in the form of a Recovery Potential Assessment (RPA) for aquatic species that have been assessed by COSEWIC as threatened, endangered or extirpated. The scientific information in an RPA includes species status, threats and limiting factors to the survival and recovery of the species, recovery targets, and feasibility of recovery in given scenarios. The RPA informs the development of advice to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans regarding the listing of aquatic species under SARA and is used when analyzing the socio-economic impacts, and during subsequent consultations. The RPA also provides advice needed to meet other requirements of the Act, including recovery planning and permitting decisions.

In 2019, DFO held 12 RPA peer-review meetings:

1. River Darter: Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations
2. Pacific Grey Whale: West coast/ Lumpfish: Atlantic Ocean
3. Lake Sturgeon: Western Hudson Bay populations
4. Lake Sturgeon: Saskatchewan-Nelson River populations
5. Lake Sturgeon: Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations
6.  Lake Sturgeon: Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence populations (second meeting)
7. Coho Salmon: Interior Fraser River population/ Chinook Salmon: Okanagan population
8. Channel Darter: Lake Erie and Lake Ontario populations
9. Fraser River Sockeye Salmon: Ten designatable units
10.  Pygmy Whitefish: Great Lakes-Upper St. Lawrence population
11.  Fraser River Chinook Salmon: Eleven designatable units
12.  Westslope Cutthroat Trout: Saskatchewan-Nelson River population

3.2 Federal government response to COSEWIC assessments

In November 2017, the Minister posted the new SARA policy, Timeline for amendments to Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act. This policy applies to all species assessments received by the Minister from the date of publication of the policy onward. The policy includes a commitment to report when timelines cannot be met. The report is to explain the status of the species assessments that the Minister received and that have not yet been submitted to the Governor in Council. The response statements for the first batch of species to which this policy will apply (Batch 16) were posted on January 11, 2019. This included the response statements for 26 confirmations of status for species already on Schedule 1. The response statements for the remaining 49 species at risk explained that they were eligible for a change on Schedule 1 and provided timelines for action, to the extent possible.

In October 2019, the Minister received COSEWIC’s assessments for 52 out of the 56 assessed species in Batch 17. Of these assessments, 27 terrestrial and 25 aquatic wildlife were assessed as species at risk.

3.3. Public consultations

Public consultations provide the Minister with a better understanding of the potential social and economic impacts of possible changes to Schedule 1, and of the potential consequences of adding or not adding a species to the List. Information collected during consultations is used to inform the Minister’s recommendations to the Governor in Council on amending Schedule 1 of SARA.

In 2019, ECCC carried out consultations for 21 terrestrial species for which status assessments had been received from COSEWIC as part of Batch 16. The document titled Consultation on Amending the List of Species under the Species at Risk Act: Terrestrial Species – January 2019 was posted on the Species at Risk Public Registry.

In 2019, DFO consulted Canadians on the possible listing on Schedule 1 of eight aquatic species. Consultations included those with other government departments, wildlife management boards, stakeholders, Indigenous groups and non-governmental organizations. Public consultations were also facilitated by inviting respondents to contribute to a web-based, species-specific survey hosted on the Species at Risk Public Registry.

3.4. Listing decisions

Governor in Council decisions on whether or not to amend Schedule 1 according to the COSEWIC assessments are published as orders amending Schedule 1 of SARA in the Canada Gazette, and include Regulatory Impact Analysis Statements. Decisions to not add a species at risk to Schedule 1 of SARA or to refer the matter back to COSEWIC are published in the Canada Gazette with an explanatory note.

In 2019, final listing decisions were made for 40 terrestrial species. There were two orders amending Schedule 1 of SARA published in the Canada Gazette in 2019. Of the 40 terrestrial species included in these orders, 22 wildlife species were newly added to Schedule 1. There were 15 wildlife species whose status on Schedule 1 changed. Another wildlife species (Toothcup), which had previously been on Schedule 1 as one designatable unit (or wildlife species), was split into two wildlife species. One of these retained the same status as the previously listed parent; the other was added at a lower risk level. Another species, the Pygmy Pocket Moss, was removed from the Schedule 1 of SARA because it had been re-assessed as “not at risk.”

^a The total includes species assessed for the first time, species being reassessed and previously assessed species that have been split into more than one designatable unit.

^b The totals listed as “Uplisted” (to a higher risk category) and “Downlisted” (to a lower risk category) also account for species that were subsequently split into more than one designatable unit with a corresponding change in status and were therefore treated as reclassifications (“uplisted” or “downlisted”). In addition, removals from Schedule 1 are counted here as “downlisted”.

^c Includes four wildlife species that were not listed for further consideration from Batch 1 and reconsidered in Batch 2, and five additional wildlife species when one designatable unit received by COSEWIC was split into six for listing.

Final listing decisions were made for 32 aquatic species via two orders published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Based on a request from COSEWIC in light of new information received, one order referred the assessment of one species (Shortfin Mako) back to COSEWIC for further consideration. Of the 31 aquatic species included in the second order, which amended Schedule 1 of SARA: 18 species were newly added to Schedule 1; nine were reclassifications; and four were the subject of changes to their recognized designatable units. The decision on the reclassification of another species, which had been received with these, remains pending. The Governor in Council received the assessment of the Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel in February 2019. It is on Schedule 1 as Special Concern, and COSEWIC assessed it as Endangered. During the public comment period that followed the proposed status change, stakeholders raised concerns. As a result, officials are gathering additional science information.

3.5. SARA Schedule 1 current status

When SARA was proclaimed in June 2003, Schedule 1 included 233 species. Starting in 2005, species have been added to the list every year, except in 2008, 2015 and 2016. As of December 31, 2019, Schedule 1 listed a total of 622 species.

• 23 extirpated species
• 273 endangered species
• 144 threatened species
• 182 species of special concern

^a The Eastern Foxsnake was split into two populations. The new populations inherited the species’ status on Schedule 1 of SARA before it was split, and both new populations were uplisted in 2010. For the purpose of this table, one of the new Eastern Foxsnake populations was treated as an addition to Schedule 1.

^b Although the total number of listed species (622) is correct, the totals for each risk category (i.e. extirpated, endangered, threatened and special concern) are slightly different than the actual number of species for each of the categories listed on Schedule 1 because the values presented in this table do not reflect status changes (i.e., uplisting or downlisting of a species).