Althia Raj: Carney government proposal targets extinction protections for endangered killer whales off B.C. coast - Toronto Star

The orcas have been affected by shipping traffic causing physical and acoustic disturbances, pollutants and declining food stock. 

An endangered female orca leaps from the water. 

Althia Raj is a national politics columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @althiaraj

Environmental groups raised the alarm Thursday after the Star reported that a government proposal to give cabinet the power to allow development projects to proceed — even if they could eradicate an entire species — was developed with the southern resident killer whale in mind, while the transport minister said the government isn’t “consciously” trying to kill the iconic orcas.

In a discussion paper released last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government proposed, among other things, to grant cabinet the ability to “exempt specific projects from the application of the jeopardy test for species at risk, but only if it’s in the public interest and if the proponent (of the project) has made all reasonable efforts to avoid or reduce impacts on at-risk species.”

The “jeopardy test” is a prohibition on driving a species to extinction. “Not just kills the individuals, but wipes the species forever off the planet,” explained Environmental Defence’s Counsel and Ontario Environment Program Manager Phil Pothen.

Several sources — including two within the government, who spoke on condition of anonymity — told the Star that the measure is a carve-out for the southern resident killer whales, in particular.

There are only 73 to 75 of these coastal species left in the Salish Sea. Southern resident killer whales have been listed as endangered in Canada since 2001. But in the past ten years, their habitat has been so significantly impacted by shipping traffic causing physical and acoustic disturbances, pollutants in the ocean, and declining food stock, that their population has declined to the point that their continued existence is in jeopardy. 

“We’re losing reproductive females, we are not able to lower mortality or improve the fecundity — the birth rates of these whales — and they’re not recovering,” said Misty MacDuffee, a biologist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

Building a pipeline to Burnaby or Tsawwassen, or expanding the Port of Vancouver through Roberts Bank Terminal 2, would impact the whales’ critical habitat and require a Species at Risk permit. But since the Species at Risk Act (SARA) doesn’t allow the minister to authorize harmful action that would jeopardize the survival of an endangered species, the Carney government is proposing an alternative.

“What they are trying to do, they are kind of bypassing any legal challenges on these whales by passing these provisions that say that they can fast-track these projects without having to adhere to the Species at Risk Act,” said MacDuffee. “They are trying to do an end run around the Species at Risk Act and at the same time, they’re trying to tell the public how much they’re investing in Canada’s nature.”

“The legal protections that the southern resident killer whale have under the Species at Risk Act, and that they need and they deserve, are essentially being put aside to advance projects,” said Hussein Alidina, the lead specialist in marine conservation at WWF-Canada. 

On Thursday, after this story was first published online, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon posted on X that “these reports could not be further from the truth.”

He said the government was “committed to building big things fast that connect and grow a strong Canadian economy, though always building in a manner that is sustainable to our environment, in solidarity with our workers, and in partnership with Indigenous Peoples.” He noted measures announced in the spring economic update, saying: “We would not take any actions that would undermine these important strategies and substantial investments.”

The Star outlined those measures: $160.8 million over five years to protect whale habitat on Canada’s coasts; and $91.3 million over five years to address “the potential for increased marine traffic on the West Coast as Canada embarks on its Trade Diversification Strategy.” The funding would support a regional noise monitoring and management program and address other threats to the southern resident killer whale population.

And, in addition, the Star noted, the government said it would amend the Marine Mammal Regulations to increase the vessel approach distance from 200 metres to 1,000 metres for the southern resident killer whale to mitigate the threats posed by physical and acoustic disturbance from vessel traffic.

But in an email, MacKinnon said the “quarter of a billion dollars that we are spending to save this species (was too) deep in the story.” 

He did not dispute the reporting. What he said was “‘false” is the notion that because “there could be a public interest test applied to SARA, should that come to be included, that we automatically would conclude that a species must be eliminated and therefore consciously decide that it occur(s).”

Nobody is suggesting that the government wants to kill the southern resident killer whales. But the actions the government is taking demonstrate it is aware that the projects it wants to approve will impact the critical habitat of an endangered species, and is looking for a way around the current laws.

“It’s a choice that they’re making, and that choice is to give up southern resident killer whales, and to say it’s OK for them to go extinct. And I don’t think that that really represents what communities here and people here want to see,” said Alidina.

The government’s proposal is open for public comments until June 7.

Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.

There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.

You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

Althia Raj is a national politics columnist for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @althiaraj