Environment committee  That's correct, yes.

Environment committee  That's an extremely good question. My perspective is that things have improved considerably. I feel that the quality of the status reports has improved considerably. I feel that the writing of them has improved. I feel that the assessments have improved as well, in large part be

Environment committee  There are 31 votes, but there are actually about 45 to 50 people sitting around the table. I believe there are currently 57 members of COSEWIC, but only 31 votes can actually be cast, at a maximum.

Environment committee  It's basically dependent on who is actually in attendance at the meeting. Some jurisdictions aren't always able to attend. Some members can't attend, for whatever reason, and there's no proxy voting. You can only vote if you have received a ministerial appointment to COSEWIC. At

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  It very much depends on the species. Some of them surprise you. They certainly surprise me, chairing a group of 60 people for a five- or six-day period. Some assessments go through very quickly. I'll simply ask for a consensus through a general nodding of heads that there is a f

Environment committee  I constantly remind the members that at the end of the day, it's our assessment and the quality of the report that supports the assessment that will be scrutinized, and that they will be the basis, ultimately, for determining whether a species is included in schedule 1 or not, or

Environment committee  I absolutely believe that the minister should retain discretion. These are not political appointments. They are ministerial appointments. Insofar as they are ministerial appointments, the Minister of the Environment is ultimately responsible for this act and to ensure that the se

Environment committee  Basically, after the first draft of the report is completed, that draft is sent to all federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions that are responsible for the species; all wildlife management boards established under land claims agreements and responsible for the wildlife

Environment committee  That is outside the purview of COSEWIC. My understanding is that the consultations are there to inform those who might be potentially affected by a legal listing decision in order to provide information to them on what COSEWIC suggested, to inform them of the basis for COSEWIC's

Environment committee  Science and research are almost certain to be part of the consultation process that will take place with various provincial governments and others. There are occasions during that consultation period when governments are encouraged to undertake surveys that they haven't underta

Environment committee  I think it's fair to say that in the correspondence with the minister on this issue, the qualifications of Dr. Green as co-chair for the subcommittee were made fairly plain, but what's not included in letters of nomination are the potential ramifications of not accepting a potent

Environment committee  No.

Environment committee  I did request a meeting.

Environment committee  No, there are no consultations that COSEWIC undertakes after it has.... Let me clarify for you, in case I've misled. The one-and-a-half- to two-year timeframe represents the timeframe between the initial completion of the first draft of a status report and the time at which COS