The response regarding the status of Canada's polar bears.

I received a response today for the email I sent a while ago which can be read further down on this page. I thought I would share their response with you.

Dear Mr. Smith:


On behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, I am responding to your March 16 email message concerning the listing of the polar bear as an endangered or threatened species through the federal Species at Risk Act.

In 2008, the committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the independent, arm’s-length body that provides advice to the Government of Canada under the federal Species at Risk Act, completed an assessment of the polar bear in Canada as being a species of concern. Prior to listing a species under the Act, extensive consultations with the public are undertaken. Notably, with regard to the polar bear, there are additional requirements for the Species at Risk Act listings consultations, to ensure that the jurisdiction of wildlife management boards under land claims agreements is respected. As such, the listing of the polar bear as a species of special concern on Schedule 1 to the Act is currently undergoing extended consultations with Aboriginal peoples prior to the Minister of the Environment’s decision on listing.

The Governor in Council’s final decision on whether or not to list the polar bear is not expected before the spring of 2011, contingent on consultations with wildlife management boards proceeding in accordance with the current schedule.

While these consultations are under way, Environment Canada is also involved in many efforts to protect polar bears in the Canadian North. In October 2009, Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work with the governments of Nunavut and Greenland concerning shared polar bears. This memorandum of understanding with Greenland will bring closer co-operation and shared management actions to preserve the Baffin Bay and Kane Basin polar bear populations.

In January 2009, the Minister of the Environment hosted a high-level roundtable meeting with the provinces and territories, wildlife management boards and others who have a management role and a conservation role to protect Canada’s approximately 15,500 polar bears. Since the National Roundtable on the Polar Bear, Environment Canada continues to work with jurisdictions to conserve the polar bear by drafting the above mentioned agreement on managing polar bear subpopulations that are shared between Nunavut and Greenland, consultations on export permitting conditions, and development of National Conservation Strategy.

Further information on polar bears is available on Environment Canada’s Species at Risk Public Registry at http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/.

I note your comment about climate change. Climate change and air pollution continue to be among the most pressing environmental issues of our time, and it is for this reason that the Government has taken a strong stance on the issue, committing to reduce Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. For more information on federal actions to address climate change and on how you can make an important difference, please visit http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/, or call 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232).

I appreciate your concern for polar bears. Please accept my best wishes.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Wright
Acting Assistant Deputy Minister
Environmental Stewardship Branch