Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act: SI/2022-26

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 156, Number 11

Registration
SI/2022-26 May 25, 2022

SPECIES AT RISK ACT

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

P.C. 2022-471 May 16, 2022

Her Excellency the Governor General 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 status of the species set out in the annexed schedule.

SCHEDULE

Extirpated Species

Arthropods

Blue, Karner (Plebejus samuelis)
Bleu mélissa

Endangered Species

Plants

Mosses

Threatened Species

Mammals

Caribou, Peary (Rangifer tarandus pearyi)
Caribou de Peary

Special Concern

Reptiles

Lizard, Greater Short-horned (Phrynosoma hernandesi)
Lézard à petites cornes majeur

Arthropods

Plants

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Hydraste du Canada

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order acknowledges receipt of assessments from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) regarding the status of 13 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 for the Governor in Council (GIC), on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment, to acknowledge receipt of the assessments undertaken pursuant to subsection 23(1) of SARA by the COSEWIC with respect to the wildlife species set out in the annexed schedule of the Order.

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. COSEWIC provides the Minister of the Environment with assessments of the status of Canadian wildlife species.

Of the 13 COSEWIC assessments with respect to the status of wildlife species included in this Order, 9 are new assessments and 3 are reclassifications of a species already on the List of Wildlife Species at Risk (the List) under SARA. In addition, COSEWIC is recommending to change the scientific name of 1 species without modification to its status.

Implications

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

Before making a final listing recommendation for each species to the GIC, 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. Under subsection 27(1.1), the GIC may, in response to the recommendation of the Minister, (a) accept the assessment and amend the List accordingly (by either adding the species, reclassifying it to a different status or removing it); (b) decide not to add the species to the List; or (c) refer the matter back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration.

Under subsection 27(3) of SARA, if the GIC has not made a decision within nine months after receiving a COSEWIC assessment, the Minister of the Environment must, by order, amend the List in accordance with COSEWIC’s recommended designation for the species. This nine-month timeline does not apply to the assessments recommending reclassification, as these species are already on the List.

Consultation

Initial consultations with interested stakeholders and the general public were initiated in January 2017 on the proposed amendment to the status of the Peary Caribou as per the COSEWIC assessment received on October 13, 2016. In January 2020, the Department of the Environment (the Department) launched consultations on the proposed amendments to the List for 11 additional terrestrial species in accordance with the COSEWIC assessments received in October 2018. No consultations were held for the Karner Blue since the species has been assessed at the same risk classification and would only have its scientific name changed.

The Department received 53 opinions about the specific species during these consultations, of which 3 were opposed to the proposed listings or changes in status of three species: the American Bumble Bee, the Greater Short-horned Lizard, and the Goldenseal. Follow-ups were performed with interested stakeholders, wildlife management boards, and Indigenous peoples after those initial consultations.

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

Contact

Paula Brand
Director
SARA Policy
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 1‑800‑668‑6767
Email: LEPreglementations-SARAregulations@ec.gc.ca

Annex I: Proposed amendments to Schedule 1 of SARA — Thirteen terrestrial species assessments by COSEWIC and received by the Governor in Council

Table 1: Species proposed for addition to Schedule 1 of SARA (9)
Taxon Legal common name Scientific name Current status Proposed status Range
Mosses Dalton’s Moss Daltonia splachnoides None Endangered British Columbia
Carey’s Small Limestone Moss Seligeria careyana None Endangered British Columbia
Drooping-leaved Beard-moss Oxystegus recurvifolius None Endangered British Columbia
Vascular plants Hairy Paintbrush Castilleja tenuis None Endangered British Columbia
Dwarf Hesperochiron Hesperochiron pumilus None Endangered British Columbia
Columbia Quillwort Isoetes minima None Endangered British Columbia
Hairy Valerian Valeriana edulis ssp. ciliata None Endangered Ontario
Arthropods American Bumble Bee Bombus pensylvanicus None Special concern Ontario and Quebec
Yellow Scarab Hunter Wasp Dielis pilipes None Special concern British Columbia
Table 2: Species proposed for reclassification on Schedule 1 of SARA (3)
Taxon Legal common name Scientific name Current status Proposed status Range
Mammals Peary Caribou Rangifer tarandus pearyi Endangered Threatened Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Reptiles Greater Short-horned Lizard table 2 note a Phrynosoma hernandesi Endangered Special concern Alberta and Saskatchewan
Vascular plants Goldenseal Hydrastis canadensis Threatened Special concern Ontario

Table 2 note(s)

Table 2 note a

Legal common name change in French only from "Grand iguane à petites cornes."

Return to table 2 note a referrer
Table 3: Species proposed for scientific name change (1)
Taxon Legal common name Scientific name Current status Proposed status Range
Anthropods Karner Blue Plebejus samuelis  table 3 note a Extirpated N/A Ontario

Table 3 note(s)

Table 3 note a

Scientific name change, currently listed on Schedule 1 of SARA as Lycaeides melissa samuelis.

Return to table 3 note a referrer