Environment committee  Well, I think the Minister of Environment has made it clear that he intends to release the report. There are emergency powers under the act. I'm forgetting precisely where they are in the act, but I do know that one is in the section in the 80s, and there's one earlier on. I thin

Environment committee  We have made it clear to the province what those powers are, and we have had cooperation so far from the provinces. So we have not used those powers yet. I just want to come back to the habitat issue, because there is a distinction in the act between critical habitat and habitat

Environment committee  That's an issue the committee might want to look at. There are implications of designating land that may not, in the end, actually be used by species, because there are prohibitions that apply upon designation of that land.

Environment committee  Our strategy to date has been to actually look at how much habitat is protected. Whether or not it is designated under the Species at Risk Act has been an area where we have not necessarily focused. So if I use the spotted owl as an example, that was a species where we pushed for

Environment committee  If by that you mean have we been through an entire cycle of assessment, recovery planning, action planning, monitoring and evaluation, yes, we have, for the Banff Springs snail, a species that has gone through the entire cycle. There will be others coming through the cycle in the

Environment committee  COSEWIC did consider climate change and other activities in its assessment. They have a fairly rigorous criteria for determining what status they'll give to a species--special concern, versus threatened or endangered. And I'm sure Dr. Hutchings will be happy to explain that to yo

Environment committee  Yes, the previous Minister of the Environment, Minister Baird, signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with the United States on how we would share the management of joint populations. There is also a memorandum of understanding with all range states that have polar

Environment committee  There are ongoing working-level discussions. At the ministerial level, it was last May.

Environment committee  The last official discussions were last May. The work of officials is ongoing. My director general can confirm that for you. When was the last time you spoke to your U.S. counterpart? Was that yesterday? It was yesterday.

Environment committee  I don't think it's scientific certainty; it's some fundamental understanding.

Environment committee  There are still questions unanswered on how species use habitat where they are, even.

Environment committee  It's fair to say that I don't think any country has enough science to understand the species and what habitat they need and how to protect it adequately. That's going to be an ongoing challenge for all countries.

Environment committee  I'd have to get you the numbers, because the science is also giving broader guidance on recovery. It's not just critical habitat; there are other things, like reintroduction. We spend a fair bit of money on captive breeding, on whether we can reintroduce species. So I'd have to g

Environment committee  The $2 million is only on the assessments. If I understand the member correctly, he's getting beyond the assessments into the recovery strategy. So it's significantly more than that.

Environment committee  I'm not sure it's as high as 84%. I don't know that number. The COSEWIC assessments often identify the threats. Habitat is frequently at threat; it's not the only threat. There's pollution, over-harvesting, climate change, and a number of other threats.