Help Protect Caribou in Canada. Demand Federal Intervention!
- by: David Suzuki Foundation
- recipient: Government of Canada
Boreal woodland caribou are threatened with extinction in Canada.
Decades of science show the impacts of human activities and natural disturbances within their ranges. With increased disturbance comes increased risk.
Environment Canada has identified the "critical habitat" that caribou need to survive and recover. A team of North America's leading caribou experts established a strong relationship between the extent of habitat disturbance and whether a local population increases, declines or remains stable. From this, the federal government determined a continuum of risk. In 2012, the federal government gave provinces and territories five years to develop range plans for each herd that show how ranges will be managed to effectively protect critical habitat. The recovery strategy identifies a minimum of 65 per cent undisturbed habitat in a range as the "disturbance management threshold," which provides a 60 per cent chance of the local herd surviving.
The five-year deadline for caribou range plans passed on October 5, 2017, without any plans from provinces or territories. The recovery strategy is clear: Less than half of Canada's caribou populations are likely to survive unless cumulative disturbance is reduced.
Caribou need their critical habitat protected now more than ever.
Please use your voice to support caribou and science.
To whom it may concern,
I am concerned about boreal caribou habitat protection in Ontario and urge you to intervene.
For over a decade, the Government of Canada has told Ontario to comply with the federal recovery strategy for boreal caribou, but the province continues to fail to do so.
Despite signing a caribou conservation agreement in April 2022, the Ontario government continues to undermine habitat protection and restoration by ignoring the directive to manage cumulative disturbance in caribou ranges.
Ontario has gotten away with overlooking the responsibility to protect caribou habitat thanks to a permanent forestry industry exemption from having to comply with habitat destruction prohibitions under the province's Endangered Species Act. Pair that with the province's Forest Sector Strategy, which plans to almost double industrial logging in Ontario by 2030, and the need for federal intervention becomes clear.
Enough is enough!
The Ontario government can't be trusted with recovering this threatened Canadian species. I want to see:
- A commitment by the federal government to intervene to protect habitat in Ontario in the absence of Ontario range plans that outline how undisturbed habitat will be maintained/restored;
- Public facing disturbance and population tracking;
- A clear, public-facing metric for federal habitat protection equivalency;
- A commitment to continue to make Cabinet decisions regarding this file public.
There are approximately 5,000 caribou left in Ontario, and every one is counting on you to intervene.
Sincerely,
Name
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI am concerned about boreal caribou habitat protection in Ontario and urge you to intervene.
For over a decade, the Government of Canada has told Ontario to comply with the federal recovery strategy for boreal caribou, but the province continues to fail to do so.
Despite signing a caribou conservation agreement in April 2022, the Ontario government continues to undermine habitat protection and restoration by ignoring the directive to manage cumulative disturbance in caribou ranges.
Ontario has gotten away with overlooking the responsibility to protect caribou habitat thanks to a permanent forestry industry exemption from having to comply with habitat destruction prohibitions under the province's Endangered Species Act. Pair that with the province's Forest Sector Strategy, which plans to almost double industrial logging in Ontario by 2030, and the need for federal intervention becomes clear.
Enough is enough!
The Ontario government can't be trusted with recovering this threatened Canadian species. I want to see:
- A commitment by the federal government to intervene to protect habitat in Ontario in the absence of Ontario range plans that outline how undisturbed habitat will be maintained/restored;
- Public facing disturbance and population tracking;
- A clear, public-facing metric for federal habitat protection equivalency;
- A commitment to continue to make Cabinet decisions regarding this file public.
There are approximately 5,000 caribou left in Ontario, and every one is counting on you to intervene.
Sincerely,
Name
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