doi.org
Canada's Species at Risk Act: listing lags and limbos
Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) aims to prevent wildlife extinction and facilitate the recovery and management of species imperilled due to human activity. A species may only be included on SARA after scientific assessment and a Cabinet decision. Recommended timelines for each stage of this process were introduced in 2017. We evaluated the influence of these recommendations by comparing delays before and after 2017, focusing specifically on the second stage where timelines are not mandatory. We also analyzed stated causes of delay for each species considered for listing. We found that decisions were made within the timeframe for only 6% of 288 species, and 31% were listed after delays. Critically, 85% of 181 species waiting for a decision have already exceeded recommended timelines. Timeline compliance did not improve after the 2017 policy was introduced (longer median decision times and proportionally fewer species advanced to decision), where decisions exceeded the timelines by an average of 477 days (versus 484 days pre-2017). Certain species groups, particularly marine vertebrates, experienced disproportionate delays, but publicly available information highlighting causes of delays is limited. Despite the intention of the 2017 policy to expedite decision-making, species at risk in Canada continue to wait.
