Richard Gleeon
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 21/00) - Federally proposed Species at Risk legislation came under fire from environmental groups and aboriginal organizations last week.

On Wednesday in Ottawa, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada joined other aboriginal groups in demanding substantial aboriginal involvement in the implementation of the proposed Species at Risk Act.

NWT/Nunavut species at risk Endangered (facing imminent extinction) High Arctic Peary caribou Banks Island Peary caribou Whooping crane Eskimo curlew Bowhead Whale Threatened (likely to become endangered if limiting factors not reversed) Wood Bison Low Arctic Peary caribou Shortjaw cisco Anatum peregrine falcon Vulnerable (particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events) Grizzly bear Polar bear Western population of Woodland caribou Tundra peregrine falcon Great grey owl Short-eared owl Prickleback blackline (fish) Yellow rail (bird) Fourhorn sculpin Western population of wolverine Source: Environment Canada

"We are the original stewards of this land," ITC president Jose Kusugak said after a meeting last Tuesday in Iqaluit between aboriginal leaders and Environment Minister David Anderson.

"It is essential that the federal government, the provinces, the territories and aboriginal peoples work closely together in order to ensure that all wildlife species in Canada receive proper protection."

The Species at Risk Act has been in the works for years. It tries to strike the fine balance between the often conflicting interests of environmentalists, aboriginal groups and those in the non-renewable resources sector.

Aboriginal leaders called on the federal minister to provide them with the support necessary to allow meaningful involvement in the process, establishing a political accord on environmental protection between the Crown and aboriginal people and developing a traditional knowledge body to help assess and classify species at risk.

Failing grades

Environmentalists also criticized the NWT for its efforts to protect species at risk.

In its 2000 report card on provincial, territorial and federal effectiveness in protecting species at risk, a coalition of four environmental groups gave the NWT and Nunavut an 'F'.

The grading is based on 15 elements set out in the 1996 accord on species at risk.

The federal government, B.C., Newfoundland and the Yukon also got failing grades. The groups gave Nova Scotia the highest mark, a C+.

The coalition is composed of the Canadian Endangered Species Campaign, The Canadian Nature Federation, The Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the Sierra Club of Canada.