Question Period Note: Protection and Recovery of the Western Chorus Frog

Protection and Recovery of the Western Chorus Frog

• The Government is committed to the protection and recovery of Canada’s species at risk based on sound science, Traditional Knowledge, collaboration, and robust recovery measures.
• The management of terrestrial wildlife is primarily the responsibility of provinces and territories. The Species at Risk Act (SARA) provides various tools—both regulatory and stewardship-based—for the Government of Canada to support the protection and recovery of the Western Chorus Frog (WCF).
• The Government has carried out various actions to support the species’ recovery, including a recovery strategy and funding multiple conservation projects. In June 2016, the Government also published an Emergency Order under SARA to protect critical habitat for the WCF in La Prairie, South of Montreal, Quebec.
• The decision for an Emergency protection order was based on the best scientific information available while minimizing socio-economic impacts.
• The Government is continuing to work with the Quebec Government and key stakeholders to support the protection and recovery of the WCF across the province.

LITIGATION

• As this matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to provide further details at this time

• The Western Chorus Frog (WCF), Great Lakes / St. Lawrence - Canadian Shield Population (Rainette faux-grillon de l'Ouest, Population des Grands Lacs / Saint-Laurent et du Bouclier canadien), is a small amphibian which was listed as threatened under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2010. The species occurs in Montérégie and Outaouais, Québec, and in eastern Ontario. The species’ most important threat is habitat loss due to urban development and intensification of agriculture.
• After receiving a petition for an emergency protection order, the Minister determined, in 2014, that there was no imminent threat to survival and recovery of the species. In 2015, the Court ordered the Minister to reconsider the decision and to consult more broadly. The Minister then concluded that there was imminent threat to the recovery of the species and recommended that the Governor in council make an emergency protection order. On June 22, 2016, the Governor in Council made an Emergency Order to provide for the protection of the WCF that applied in an area of close to two square kilometers in Montérégie.
• There are currently three judicial reviews (two in appeal and one pending) and three lawsuits seeking compensation following the entry into force of this emergency protection order.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) continues to work in collaboration with different partners to promote the species’ recovery through various groups and projects, including the Government of Quebec. Since 2018, collaborative work between the two Governments is done in the context of the new Pan-Canadian approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada, in which both parties agreed to focus actions in the St-Lawrence lowlands region where WCF is a priority species.
• Work on the species since 2016 has been done under the Canada-Québec agreement on the protection and recovery of species at risk in Québec. On August 2, 2019, ECCC and the Government of Quebec agreed to the creation of a new scientific working group to share and advance scientific knowledge on the species. The Québec government has also been working with the City of Gatineau to develop a conservation plan for the species in light of development projects in this municipality.

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