Mr. Speaker, I will try to keep my remarks short so that the member for Brandon--Souris might also have an opportunity to speak this afternoon. I am pleased that so many members of the Alliance are speaking. It clearly shows the interest in the House and on this side of the House for good legislation and for the democratic process.
I rise today and speak as the member for Winnipeg North Centre, a member of the NDP, but also as the guardian of the western prairie fringed orchid. That was the responsibility handed to me by I believe by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which has called on many of us in the House to adopt a species that is on the list of endangered species or a threatened species. I am very proud to be responsible for the western prairie fringed orchid. It is a beautiful plant that I think many Canadians want to see preserved and protected.
Let me tell members about the western prairie fringed orchid. The plant grows in the western prairie region and has a long flower spike. It is topped with a crown of white or creamy flowers. Each has a distinctly fringed lower petal and it has many seed capsules.
I am sure the member for Brandon--Souris will join me in espousing great concern about this species because it comes from the southwestern Manitoba region. The plant grows in the whole area of southwestern Manitoba, south to Kansas.
The species has declined significantly throughout its range. More than 90% of the world's known population of the western prairie fringed orchid occurs in the Red River valley of North Dakota, Minnesota and south central Manitoba.
It is likely the orchid was once more widely distributed throughout southern Manitoba, but the number of sites has declined drastically with the loss of the tall grass prairie habitat.
Presently the population of the western prairie fringed orchid is restricted to a 42 square kilometre area around the Manitoba townships of Vita and Stuartburn. I should also point out that during a recent survey there were at least 8,000 to 9,000 flowering plants in the entire Canadian population.
We have this beautiful and rare plant growing in certain conditions unique to southern and central Manitoba, and it is on the verge of extinction.
The threats are many and I would like to very briefly summarize them because they point to the absolute need for an endangered species legislation that is tough, proactive and in line with the recommendations made by the environment committee.
The orchid is at the northern edge of its range and is limited by climate. It probably has a low reproductive potential and is sensitive to various periodic climatic effects, particularly precipitation and temperature. It is clear also that the habitat loss, and this is important for the bill, is the main factor responsible for population decline.
Tall grass prairie has been cultivated to form agricultural fields. Loss of habitat may also be affecting the population of the orchid's pollinators, thereby reducing the plant's ability to reproduce. Overgrazing, intensive hay mowing, drainage of wet areas, competition with introduced species and fire suppression are all factors which have led to serious threats to the western prairie fringed orchid.
It is also worth noting that there have been attempts in the Manitoba region to preserve and protect this rare orchid. There are three sites in Manitoba that have been purchased to ensure the protection of the western prairie fringed orchid. The species is being monitored and managed on these lands. It was declared endangered under Manitoba's endangered species act of 1994.
Recovery efforts are going on in that province and there is an active movement afoot to try to preserve and protect this endangered species. All of this points to the absolute imperative for the government to finally move on the recommendations advanced by activists in the community as well as representatives from all political parties who want to see tough legislation, who want to see mandatory actions on the part of government and who want to see science based decision making.
I just want to say a couple of more things relating to a poll that just came out that others have referenced in the debate. The new national poll just out found that few Canadians support the federal government's proposed amendments to the species at risk act. In fact it found that only 11% of Canadians agree with the government that habitat protection should be at the discretion of politicians. Whereas more than 76% believe habitat protection should be required by law.
We have what we need to act. We have the knowledge and the information about endangered species. We know the precarious situation facing those species, particularly the western prairie fringed orchid. We know that Canadians support tough action by government and want to see mandatory regulations, tough provisions to protect those species and independent scientists making the decisions.
All this knowledge gives us the recipe for the government to act. Yet we have a government that has decided to bypass and sidestep the many good recommendations from months of work by the environment committee, work that resulted in all party co-operation and in the proposal before us today, particularly with the amendments in Group No. 4 which we are now addressing.
Given this information, given the desire of Canadians, given the all party co-operation and the will displayed in this Chamber, surely the government can see its way clear once and for all to act on those recommendations, to act on the spirit of Canadian wishes and to act on the basis of good science and good information. We would hope today that the government, after all these hours of debate on the bill, after the years of waiting and the decades of consideration and study, would finally do the bare minimum, which is to act on the bill as amended by the environment committee. That is the bare minimum the government can do and we look to see some results today.