Canada Lies, Endangered Species Die
Copyright 2001 Canada NewsWire
November 8, 2001
As Montreal prepares to host an international treaty meeting next week, Greenpeace today showed how Canada is violating the same treaty.
Despite pretending to protect endangered species, the Liberals' Bill C-5 does nothing to protect species' habitat and only protects species on federal lands. To highlight the point, a Greenpeace activist dressed as the endangered Northern Spotted Owl perched herself up a 15-metre flagpole, outside the federal Guy Favreau complex.
"When Canada signed the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, it promised to protect species and their habitat," said Greenpeace forests campaigner Gavin Edwards. "But Canada lied and the result is laughable: The northern owl is only protected when it's on federal land, and Liberals' new law doesn't protect the trees it needs to survive.
"Greenpeace urges Canada's endangered species to get to a federal office building quickly and stay there. Because that's where you're safe thanks to Canada's weak, treaty-breaking endangered species law," he said.
Many endangered species depend on forests to survive, but Bill C-5 provides no such protection. As such, Canada is violating Articles 8(d) and 8(k) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). For the full text, visit www.biodiv.org/convention/articles.asp
In 1999, Environment Minister David Anderson said, "Canada will not simply let critical habitat be destroyed or remain unprotected." His Bill C-5, the Species At Risk Act, permits habitat such as forests to be destroyed and leaves them unprotected.
"Anderson is breaking his word and endangered species are dying. He is breaking an international treaty, ironically one being discussed in Canada next week," said Edwards. The government lists 352 species as being endangered in Canada.
From November 12-16 in Montreal, Canada will host 180 countries at crucial meeting on the CBD, a treaty aimed to protect ecosystems, including ancient forests, and endangered species. Greenpeace will be both inside and outside the meeting, pushing for a comprehensive plan to stop the destruction of the world's ancient forests.
"This meeting is crucial for the world's ancient forests and endangered species. Today, Greenpeace is serving notice to Canada that the world is watching," said Edwards.
CONTACT: Gavin Edwards, forests campaign, cell (604) 761-4782; Jamey Heath, communications coordinator, Greenpeace Canada, Office: (416) 597-8408 Ext. 3030; Cell: (416) 573-7209