Environment committee  Thank you for the opportunity to answer that question. We've outlined eight sections of the act we think could use work. I wasn't sure if there was an appetite to do more. We have highlighted concerns with definitions for the members of the committee to consider. I've also asked

Environment committee  I think under the right circumstances it's an effective tool, yes.

Environment committee  We've asked members of this committee to consider changes with regard to critical habitat. There will probably be some wording in the act around critical habitat. That's probably too complex a question to answer here, but I'll take a stab at it. I think multi-species is a good id

Environment committee  I won't speak to bison because our members don't operate in that area. In regard to boreal caribou and the first question, which I think you posed to Mr. McGuinness, the Government of Canada needs to be careful, when it dives down, not to go too far, to population levels where p

Environment committee  The distinctions are fairly clear, at least to me. Aquatic species and migratory birds are the domain of the federal government. Caribou and other mammals are generally and foremost the domain of the provincial government. SARA would require the federal government to intervene if

Environment committee  That would be an option. We think that there are other simpler options that the federal government could undertake, but certainly—

Environment committee  Yes, absolutely we're going out ahead. Especially for my industry, we're primarily regulated by the provinces, and so we are working with the provinces and ENGOs to develop programs for species at risk, such as caribou. We are going out ahead. We don't want to be in a position fi

Environment committee  We're trying our best to make them SARA-compliant, if you will, because there's a lack of certainty at the federal level. We're doing our best. We read the act and we try to anticipate actions that the federal government may wish us to undertake, but we're acting in a bit of a va

Environment committee  —it's something we've considered.

Environment committee  Those are the things we've recommended in our proposals: move more quickly on policies, implement the permitting, and implement the conservation agreements.

Environment committee  It's a good point. We would very much like to see conservation agreements move forward as a tool, whether it's a contract or a specific in the act. I'd have to do a little bit of homework to give you a specific answer, but I think what we need to recognize is that individual grou

Environment committee  Yes. With the implementation of SARA, some 300-odd species were instantly brought to bear for the federal government, and the staff in Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans have been doing an admirable job in trying to tackle that amount of paperwork. They are making progre

Environment committee  We absolutely support a science-based approach to recovery planning and action planning listing. Our industry employs a number of scientists and wildlife biologists, including me, who are engaged in this type of work. We absolutely support the best available science. I think we

Environment committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, committee members. I am Andrew de Vries from the Forest Products Association of Canada. We represent member companies from coast to coast, working in all the provinces. We are very pleased to be here today to discuss the five-year review of SARA.