Question Period Note: Nature Legacy for Canada: Priority Places for Species at Risk.

Nature Legacy for Canada: Priority Places for Species at Risk

• Canadians love nature and the Government is committed to conserving it.
• That’s why Budget 2018 announced the single largest investment in nature conservation in Canadian history: $1.35 billion over five years for Canada’s Nature Legacy Initiative.This includes up to $200 million available over five years under the Canada Nature Fund for various funding initiatives to help with the protection and recovery of species at risk.
• This historic investment will contribute to the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada, a joint federal/provincial/territorial initiative.
• This new approach represents a shift from a single-species approach to conservation to one that focuses on multiple species and ecosystems. It seeks to enhance collaboration to achieve better conservation outcomes for more species at risk, improved return on investments, and increased co-benefits for biodiversity and ecosystems. Conservation efforts will concentrate on priority places, species, sectors and threats across Canada.
• There are now 11 priority places identified by the federal and provincial or territorial governments. In each priority place, governments are working with Indigenous Peoples and other partners and stakeholders to collectively plan and implement conservation actions to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat.
• The 11 federal/provincial/territorial priority places are complemented by a suite of 15 Community-Nominated Priority Places that were identified through an open call for applications. In each community, multiple partners will take action together to protect and recover species at risk.

In June 2018, federal, provincial, and territorial ministers responsible for parks, protected areas, conservation, wildlife, and biodiversity met and agreed to the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada.

This new approach will shift from a single-species approach to conservation to one that focuses on multiple species and ecosystems. Conservation efforts will be concentrated on priority places, species, sectors and threats across Canada. This will enable conservation partners to work together to achieve better outcomes for species at risk.

• FPT Ministers agreed to apply the Pan-Canadian Approach to identify and confirm a national set of shared priorities. The shared priorities are:

o Priority Places: Nova Scotia – South West Nova Scotia, New Brunswick – St John River Valley, Prince Edward Island – Forested landscape, Quebec – St Lawrence Lowlands, Manitoba – Mixed Grass Prairie, Saskatchewan – South of Divide, Alberta – South Saskatchewan River Watershed, British Columbia – Dry Interior, British Columbia – South West British Columbia, Yukon – South Beringia
o Priority Species: Boreal Caribou, Southern Mountain Caribou, Peary Caribou, Barren-Ground Caribou, Greater Sage Grouse (Alberta and Saskatchewan), Wood Bison (Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories)
o Priority Sectors: Agriculture, Forestry, Urban development
o Priority Threats: Invasive alien species, Wildlife disease, Illegal wildlife trade

• The Nature Legacy for Canada Initiative, announced in Budget 2018, aims to protect Canada’s biodiversity, ecosystems and natural landscapes through the protection of lands and waters, and of species at risk. Under the Initiative’s Canada Nature Fund, the government has committed up to $155 million over 5 years for conservation actions to protect and aid in the recovery of up to 200 terrestrial wildlife species focusing on priority places, species and sectors and threats identified under the Pan-Canadian Approach.
• A priority place is an area of high biodiversity value that is seen as a distinct place with a common ecological theme by the people who live and work there. There are now 11 priority places identified under the pan-Canadian approach. The places selected have significant biodiversity, concentrations of species at risk, and opportunities to advance conservation efforts. In each priority place, the federal and provincial or territorial governments will work with Indigenous Peoples and other partners and stakeholders to develop and implement conservation action plans.
• Under the Canada Nature Fund the Minister of to 2020 through 2022 to 2023) $15.6 million funding initiative administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) approved funding for 37 projects across the 11 FPT priority places in addition to 15 projects in Community-Nominated Priority Places.
• Community-Nominated Priority Places (CNPP) for Species at Risk is a 4-year (2019 to 2020 through 2022 to 2023) initiative administered by ECCC and will complement the 11 FPT priority places. CNPP is funding multi-partner projects that identify defined priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover multiple terrestrial species at risk listed under the Species at Risk Act and implement coordinated, multi-partner conservation actions in these identified priority places. In each community, multiple partners will take action together to protect and recover species at risk.

Question Period notes as provided by the Department to the Minister’s Office