Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition to the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature.
The long-tailed macaque is the most heavily traded primate for experimental use and was uplisted to “endangered” by the IUCN in 2022. Despite the species' endangered status, Canada has allowed the import of over 10,000 macaques from Cambodia between 2023 and 2025. Environment and Climate Change Canada stated in a response to e-petition 6537 that it has seen no evidence of falsified permits.
Therefore, 5,274 signatures have been obtained from citizens and residents of Canada calling upon the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature to launch an investigation into the legality, traceability and authenticity of the CITES permits used for the importation of Cambodian long-tailed macaques into Canada under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.
The petitioners also request that long-tailed macaques be added to schedule II of the WAPTR to enable the ministry to require and assess its own import permits.