Madam Speaker, with regard to species being added to the critical habitat regime within the federal jurisdiction, we went even further. We provided for automatic critical habitat protection in a national park, a marine protected area, a migratory bird sanctuary and a national wildlife area. These are all federal lands and the protection element is a crucial one.
For anywhere else in the federal jurisdiction, the government is also moving to require the competent minister to recommend protection if critical habitat is not protected within 180 days of being identified in an approved recovery strategy or action plan.
All federal ministers will be required to consider the possible impacts on identified critical habitat prior to issuing any licence or permit for any activity.
We must also remember that most of the lands in Canada are under provincial and territorial management and private ownership.
The policy intents of Bill C-5 were not arrived at overnight. They came from years of study and consultation, of discussion and examination. We know, because it is already working, that the co-operative approach is the Canadian way.
We must ensure the incentive is there to pursue stewardship and voluntary action as the first step in all cases for protecting critical habitat.