Ottawa’s efforts to protect species at risk are falling short, environment commissioner says

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Ottawa is falling short of sustainable development goals, ranging from planting two billion trees over a decade to adequately protecting endangered species, federal Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said in releasing five new reports.

And without significant improvements, the country could face consequences that include loss of species, reduced biodiversity and the worsening impact of climate change, Mr. DeMarco said.

“Even if we succeed at reducing greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and restoring natural habitats, there’s no coming back from some of the damage that has already occurred,” he said Thursday at a press conference in Ottawa.

“Trees can be replanted; extinct species do not magically come back to life.”

The five reports assess government performance related to sustainability goals for forests and climate change; species at risk (in two separate reports); climate-related financial risks; and emission reductions through greenhouse gas regulations.

In general, the reports chronicle delays and missing information.

With regard to forests, Mr. DeMarco said Ottawa’s 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program, which calls for planting that many trees over a decade, which began in 2021, is unlikely to meet its objectives without significant changes.

Even if the program picks up momentum and two billion trees are planted by 2031, the emissions reductions resulting from those trees won’t be felt until much later, Mr. DeMarco said.

Natural Resources Canada does not expect the 2 Billion Trees

program to capture greenhouse gases before 2031

Net greenhouse gas source

Net greenhouse gas sink

Net megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

2021

2026

2031

2036

2041

2046

Age of trees planted

john sopinski/the globe and mail, source: office of the

auditor general of canada

Natural Resources Canada does not expect the 2 Billion Trees

program to capture greenhouse gases before 2031

Net greenhouse gas source

Net greenhouse gas sink

Net megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

2021

2026

2031

2036

2041

2046

Age of trees planted

john sopinski/the globe and mail, source: office of the

auditor general of canada

Natural Resources Canada does not expect the 2 Billion Trees

program to capture greenhouse gases before 2031

Net greenhouse gas source

Net greenhouse gas sink

Net megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

2021

2026

2031

2036

2041

2046

Age of trees planted

john sopinski/the globe and mail, source: office of the auditor general of canada

In an e-mailed statement, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said many of the actions recommended by the commissioner have already been adopted and that others are in progress.

Mr. DeMarco’s forestry audit also found federal ministries did not provide a clear picture of what role forests play in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental groups have argued that Canada is underreporting logging emissions.

The commissioner’s forestry audit found that estimates of forest emissions varied significantly over the years because of recalculations triggered by data updates, which resulted in forests sometimes being treated as a net source of emissions and other times, as capturing emissions.

The commissioner’s forestry report highlights the need for transparent reporting of logging emissions, said Michael Polanyi, policy and campaign manager at Nature Canada.

“As the Commissioner indicates, without a clear understanding of logging’s climate impacts, it is impossible to put in place effective policies to reduce this sector’s significant emissions,” Mr. Polanyi said in an e-mail.

With regard to species at risk, Mr. DeMarco found Canada’s recovery efforts were “slow and lacking,” with objectives being met for less than half of the species for which there was sufficient data.

The second of five reports – Follow-up on the Recovery of Species at Risk – looked at how government agencies are doing in terms of meeting standards and guidelines set out in the Species at Risk Act, which is intended to prevent birds, plants and animals from going extinct.

The act requires that four key documents be prepared for species listed under the legislation: recovery strategies; action plans; management plans; and implementation reports. Those steps are designed to ensure that species are identified and protected through, for example, measures to preserve habitat, according to timelines set out in the act.

But those documents are often late, Mr. DeMarco said in his report.

Recovery strategies and management plans for four species – the western screech owl (threatened); the greater prairie chicken (extirpated); alkaline wing-nerved moss (threatened); and white shark (endangered) – are up to 17 years overdue, the report says.

The four categories under the act, in increasing order of severity, are special concern, threatened, endangered or extirpated, which means a species no longer exists in Canada but can still be found elsewhere in the wild.

In a report titled Discretionary Powers to Protect Species at Risk, Mr. DeMarco found Environment and Climate Change Canada was slow to flag concerns to the federal Environment Minister, leaving advocacy groups to push for emergency orders allowed under federal legislation.

“Since the Species at Risk Act came fully into force almost 20 years ago, a total of three emergency orders and no safety net orders have been issued to address imminent threats to species on non‑federal lands. These instances were triggered by pressure from sources external to the federal government,” the report says.

In his fifth report, on emissions reductions through greenhouse gas regulations, Mr. DeMarco said Environment and Climate Change Canada doesn’t know how much its greenhouse gas regulations contribute to Canada’s overall emission reduction targets because the department’s approach doesn’t attribute emission cuts to specific regulations.

Mr. DeMarco also criticized Canada’s overall performance in greenhouse gas emissions, even though he acknowledged the complexity of making direct links between regulatory policies and emission reductions.

“The fact that there is some uncertainty isn’t a reason to not do it at all,” he said.

“We say this in the context of 30 years of them missing every target. So the ‘just trust us, it will all add up’ doesn’t work until they actually start showing that they are able to meet a target.”

In a press conference after the commissioner’s reports were released, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault defended Ottawa’s greenhouse gas record, noting that the recently released National Inventory Report – which Mr. DeMarco would not have had in preparing his reports – showed Canada is bending its emission curve downward.