For more than 20 years, Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) has protected wildlife that are at risk of being lost from Canadian lands and waters. Once a species is listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened under the act, it becomes illegal to kill, harm or capture it or damage its residences. Its critical habitat must also be protected, at least on federal land.
Nevertheless, these protections are routinely delayed for years. Our recently published research has found that since 2017, species that need SARA protections have waited nearly two and a half years on average to formally receive legal protections, well beyond the timelines the federal government set for itself.
