Bill 184, Endangered Species Act, 2007

Ramsay, Hon. David Minister of Natural Resources

Versions

Bill 184 2007

An Act to protect species at risk and to make related changes to other Acts

Note: This Act amends or repeals more than one Act. For the legislative history of these Acts, see Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

CONTENTS
Preamble
Introduction
1. 2.	Purposes Definitions
Classification of Species
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.	Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario Functions of COSSARO Rules for classification Reports by COSSARO Species at Risk in Ontario List Ministerial requirements
Protection and Recovery of Species
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.	Prohibition on killing, etc. Prohibition on damage to habitat, etc. Recovery strategies Management plans for special concern species Ecosystem approach Recovery strategies and management plans for more than one species Incorporation of existing plan
Agreements, Permits and Other Instruments
16. 17. 18. 19. 20.	Stewardship agreements Permits Instruments under other Acts Aboriginal persons Amendment or revocation of permits without consent
Enforcement
21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.	Enforcement officers Production of identification Inspection to determine compliance Inspection of vehicles, boats, aircraft Searches with respect to offences Seizure and forfeiture Stop order Habitat protection order Service of order Hearing Arrest without warrant Necessary force Incidental authority to pass through Exemptions from Act, enforcement officers Obstruction of enforcement officer
Offences and Penalties
36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45.		Offences Corporations Employers and principals Defence Penalties Order for compliance Presiding judge Limitation period Similar species Proof of inspected or seized things
Miscellaneous
46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58.		Existing aboriginal or treaty rights Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program Advisory committee Laws of other jurisdictions Fees Information for public Information that could lead to contravention Personal information Application to Crown Regulations Habitat regulations Special requirements for certain regulations Transition
Amendments and Repeals
59. 60. 61. 62.		Endangered Species Act Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003
Commencement and Short Title
63. 64.		Commencement Short title
Schedule 1		Transition - Species Declared to be Threatened with Extinction in Regulation 328 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990
Schedule 2		Transition - Species to be Listed as Extirpated Species
Schedule 3		Transition - Species to be Listed as Endangered Species
Schedule 4		Transition - Species to be Listed as Threatened Species
Schedule 5		Transition - Species to be Listed as Special Concern Species
______________

Preamble

Biological diversity is among the great treasures of our planet. It has ecological, social, economic, cultural and intrinsic value. Biological diversity makes many essential contributions to human life, including foods, clothing and medicines, and is an important part of sustainable social and economic development.

Unfortunately, throughout the world, species of animals, plants and other organisms are being lost forever at an alarming rate. The loss of these species is most often due to human activities, especially activities that damage the habitats of these species. Global action is required.

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity takes note of the precautionary principle, which, as described in the Convention, states that, where there is a threat of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimize such a threat.

In Ontario, our native species are a vital component of our precious natural heritage. The people of Ontario wish to do their part in protecting species that are at risk, with appropriate regard to social, economic and cultural considerations. The present generation of Ontarians should protect species at risk for future generations.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Introduction

Purposes

1. The purposes of this Act are:

1. To identify species at risk based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge.

2. To protect species that are at risk and their habitats, and to promote the recovery of species that are at risk.

3. To promote stewardship activities to assist in the protection and recovery of species that are at risk.

Definitions

2. (1) In this Act,

"aboriginal person" means a member of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, as defined in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982; ("personne autochtone")

"COSSARO" means the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario; ("CDSEPO")

"enforcement officer" means an enforcement officer under section 21; ("agent d'exécution")

"habitat" means,

(a) with respect to a species of animal, plant or other organism for which a regulation made under clause 55 (1) (a) is in force, the area prescribed by that regulation as the habitat of the species, or

(b) with respect to any other species of animal, plant or other organism, an area on which the species depends, directly or indirectly, to carry on its life processes, including life processes such as reproduction, rearing, hibernation, migration or feeding,

and includes places in the area described in clause (a) or (b), whichever is applicable, that are used by members of the species as dens, nests, hibernacula or other residences; ("habitat")

"justice" has the same meaning as in the Provincial Offences Act; ("juge")

"Minister" means the Minister of Natural Resources or such other member of the Executive Council as may be assigned the administration of this Act under the Executive Council Act; ("ministre")

"Ministry" means the ministry of the Minister; ("ministère")

"officer in charge" has the same meaning as in Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act; ("agent responsable")

"person" includes an unincorporated body referred to in paragraph 1, 2 or 3 of subsection 19 (1); ("personne")

"recovery strategy" means a strategy prepared under section 11 for the recovery of a species; ("programme de rétablissement")

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act; ("règlements")

"species" means a species, subspecies, variety or genetically or geographically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is native to Ontario; ("espèce")

"Species at Risk in Ontario List" means the regulations made under section 7. ("Liste des espèces en péril en Ontario")

Definition of "habitat", cl. (b)

(2) For greater certainty, clause (b) of the definition of "habitat" in subsection (1) does not include an area where the species formerly occurred or has the potential to be reintroduced unless existing members of the species depend on that area to carry on their life processes.

Classification of Species

Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario

3. (1) The committee known in English as the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario and in French as Comité de détermination du statut des espèces en péril en Ontario is continued.

Composition

(2) COSSARO shall be composed of such number of members as may be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Chair

(3) The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall designate one of the members as chair of COSSARO.

Qualifications

(4) A person may be appointed to COSSARO only if the Minister considers that the person has relevant expertise that is drawn from,

(a) a scientific discipline such as conservation biology, population dynamics, taxonomy, systematics or genetics; or

(b) aboriginal traditional knowledge.

Independence

(5) The members of COSSARO shall perform their functions in an independent manner, and not as representatives of their employers or of any other person or body.

Lobbying

(6) A member of COSSARO shall not, with respect to any matter related to this Act,

(a) act as a consultant lobbyist within the meaning of subsection 4 (10) of the Lobbyist Registration Act, 1998; or

(b) act as an in-house lobbyist within the meaning of subsection 5 (7) or 6 (5) of the Lobbyist Registration Act, 1998.

Functions of COSSARO

4. (1) COSSARO shall perform the following functions:

1. Subject to section 5, maintain criteria for assessing and classifying species.

2. Maintain and prioritize a list of species that should be assessed and classified, including species that should be reviewed and, if appropriate, reclassified.

3. Subject to section 8, assess, review and classify species in accordance with the list maintained under paragraph 2.

4. Submit reports to the Minister in accordance with this Act.

5. Provide advice to the Minister on any matter submitted to COSSARO by the Minister.

6. Perform any other function required under this or any other Act.

List of species to be assessed

(2) COSSARO shall ensure that the list referred to in paragraph 2 of subsection (1) includes every Ontario species that,

(a) has been classified by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as extirpated, endangered, threatened or of special concern under the Species at Risk Act (Canada); and

(b) has not yet been assessed by COSSARO.

Information for Minister

(3) COSSARO shall ensure that the Minister is provided with up to date copies of the criteria referred to in paragraph 1 of subsection (1) and the list referred to in paragraph 2 of subsection (1).

Rules for classification

5. (1) For the purposes of this Act, COSSARO shall classify species in accordance with the following rules:

1. A species shall be classified as an extinct species if it no longer lives anywhere in the world.

2. A species shall be classified as an extirpated species if it lives somewhere in the world, lived at one time in the wild in Ontario, but no longer lives in the wild in Ontario.

3. A species shall be classified as an endangered species if it lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation.

4. A species shall be classified as a threatened species if it lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening to lead to its extinction or extirpation.

5. A species shall be classified as a special concern species if it lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Geographic limitation

(2) When COSSARO classifies a species, the classification shall be deemed to apply to all of Ontario unless COSSARO indicates that the classification applies only to a specified geographic area in Ontario.

Best available scientific information

(3) COSSARO shall classify species based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge.

Reports by COSSARO

6. (1) COSSARO may at any time submit a report to the Minister that,

(a) classifies a species as an extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species;

(b) states that an assessment of a species indicates that it is not at risk; or

Annual report

(2) COSSARO shall annually submit a report to the Minister on its work, and shall include in the report the classification of each species that COSSARO classified since its last annual report and the reasons for the classification.

Species at Risk in Ontario List

7. (1) The Ministry official who holds the office designated under subsection (6) shall make and file a regulation that lists the following:

1. All the species that are classified by COSSARO as extirpated species.

2. All the species that are classified by COSSARO as endangered species.

3. All the species that are classified by COSSARO as threatened species.

4. All the species that are classified by COSSARO as special concern species.

Contents of regulation

(2) The Ministry official shall ensure that the regulation contains the following information for each species:

1. The common name and scientific name of the species.

2. COSSARO's classification of the species.

3. If COSSARO indicated that the classification applies only to a specified geographic area, the area specified by COSSARO.

Amendments to regulation

(3) The Ministry official shall make and file such amendments to the regulation as are required to ensure that the regulation accurately reflects new information reported to the Minister by COSSARO.

Same

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), if the Minister receives a report from COSSARO classifying or reclassifying a species, the Ministry official shall, not later than three months after the day the report is received, make and file an amendment to the regulation so that the regulation accurately reflects new information contained in the report.

Commencement of regulations

(5) A regulation under this section comes into force on the day it is filed.

Ministry official

(6) The Minister shall, for the purposes of this section, designate an office within the Ministry that is held by a public servant.

Transition

(7) The Ministry official shall make and file the first regulation under this section not later than the day this section comes into force, and the regulation shall,

(a) list each of the species set out in Schedule 1 as an endangered species and, if a footnote to Schedule 1 specifies a geographic area for a species, indicate that the classification of the species as an endangered species applies to that area;

(b) list each of the species set out in Schedule 2 as an extirpated species;

(d) list each of the species set out in Schedule 4 as a threatened species; and

(e) list each of the species set out in Schedule 5 as a special concern species and, if a footnote to Schedule 5 specifies a geographic area for a species, indicate that the classification of the species as a special concern species applies to that area.

Same

(8) For the purpose of subsections (1) and (2), any classifications or geographic areas that are required by subsection (7) to be included in a regulation and that are not classifications made by or geographic areas specified by COSSARO shall be deemed to be classifications made by or geographic areas specified by COSSARO, but nothing in subsection (7) or this subsection prevents COSSARO from submitting a report to the Minister under this Act that reclassifies a species listed in the regulation under subsection (7).

Same

(9) If, on or after March 20, 2007 and before this section comes into force, COSSARO reported the classification or reclassification of a species to the Minister, the Ministry official shall,

(a) if the species is not set out in any of Schedules 1 to 5 and is classified by COSSARO as an extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species, include COSSARO's classification of the species in the regulation made under subsection (7);

(b) if the species is set out in any of Schedules 1 to 5 and is reclassified by COSSARO as an extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species, include COSSARO's reclassification of the species in the regulation made under subsection (7), instead of the classification that would otherwise apply under subsection (7); and

(c) if the species is set out in any of Schedules 1 to 5 and clause (b) does not apply, not include the species in the regulation made under subsection (7), despite that subsection.

Same

(10) Despite subsection (5), if a regulation is made under subsection (7) before this section comes into force, the regulation comes into force on the day this section comes into force.

Ministerial requirements

Risk of imminent extinction or extirpation

8. (1) If a species is not listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species but the Minister is of the opinion that the species may be facing imminent extinction or extirpation, the Minister may require COSSARO to assess and classify the species and, not later than the date specified by the Minister, to submit a report to the Minister under section 6.

Reconsideration

(2) If a species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List and the Minister is of the opinion that credible scientific information indicates that the classification on the List is not appropriate, the Minister may require COSSARO to reconsider the classification and, not later than the date specified by the Minister, to submit a report to the Minister under section 6 indicating whether COSSARO confirms the classification or reclassifies the species.

Same

(3) Subsection (2) applies, with necessary modifications, if COSSARO has reported to the Minister its classification of a species as an extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species but the Species at Risk in Ontario List has not yet been amended in accordance with subsection 7 (4) to reflect the classification.

Same

(4) A requirement imposed by the Minister under subsection (3) does not delay or otherwise affect the obligation to comply with subsection 7 (4) or the application of this Act to the species.

Consultation with chair of COSSARO

(5) The Minister shall not require COSSARO to do anything under this section unless he or she has consulted with the chair of COSSARO.

Protection and Recovery of Species

Prohibition on killing, etc.

9. (1) No person shall,

(a) kill, harm, harass, capture or take a living member of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species;

(b) possess, transport, collect, buy, sell, lease, trade or offer to buy, sell, lease or trade,

(i) a living or dead member of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species,

(ii) any part of a living or dead member of a species referred to in subclause (i),

(iii) anything derived from a living or dead member of a species referred to in subclause (i); or

(c) sell, lease, trade or offer to sell, lease or trade anything that the person represents to be a thing described in subclause (b) (i), (ii) or (iii).

Possession, etc., of species originating outside Ontario

(2) Clause (1) (b) does not apply to a member of a species that originated outside Ontario if it was lawfully killed, captured or taken in the jurisdiction from which it originated.

Specified geographic area

(3) If the Species at Risk in Ontario List specifies a geographic area that a classification of a species applies to, subsection (1) only applies to that species in that area.

Possession by Crown

(4) Clause (1) (b) does not apply to possession by the Crown.

Transfer for certain purposes

(5) If the Crown is in possession of anything referred to in clause (1) (b), the Minister may transfer it to another person or body and authorize the person or body to possess it, despite clause (1) (b), for,

(a) scientific or educational purposes; or

(b) traditional cultural, religious or ceremonial purposes.

Interpretation

(6) A reference in this section to a member of a species,

(a) includes a reference to a member of the species at any stage of its development;

(b) includes a reference to a gamete or asexual propagule of the species; and

Prohibition on damage to habitat, etc.

10. (1) No person shall damage or destroy the habitat of,

(a) a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species; or

(b) a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated species, if the species is prescribed by the regulations for the purpose of this clause.

Specified geographic area

(2) If the Species at Risk in Ontario List specifies a geographic area that a classification of a species applies to, subsection (1) only applies to that species in that area.

Transition

(3) Clause (1) (a) does not apply to a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species under clause 7 (7) (c) or (d) until the earlier of the following dates:

1. The date that a regulation made under clause 55 (1) (a) that applies to the species comes into force.

2. The fifth anniversary of the day section 7 comes into force.

Recovery strategies

11. (1) The Minister shall ensure that a strategy is prepared for the recovery of each species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species.

Contents

(2) A strategy prepared for a species under subsection (1) shall include the following:

1. An identification of the habitat needs of the species.

2. A description of the threats to the survival and recovery of the species.

3. Recommendations to the Minister and other persons on,

i. objectives for the protection and recovery of the species,

ii. approaches to achieve the objectives recommended under subparagraph i, and

iii. the area that should be considered in developing a regulation under clause 55 (1) (a) that prescribes an area as the habitat of the species.

4. Such other information as is prescribed by the regulations.

Precautionary principle

(3) In preparing a strategy under subsection (1), the persons who are preparing the strategy shall consider the principle that, where there is a threat of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimize such a threat.

Time limit

(4) The Minister shall ensure that a strategy prepared under subsection (1) is made available to the public under section 51 not later than,

(a) the first anniversary of the date the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered species;

(b) the second anniversary of the date the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as a threatened species; or

(c) despite clauses (a) and (b), the fifth anniversary of the date section 7 comes into force, if the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species under clause 7 (7) (a), (c) or (d).

Same

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to a strategy if, before the time limit set out in subsection (4) expires, the Minister publishes a notice on the environmental registry established under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 that,

(a) states that the Minister is of the opinion that additional time is required to prepare the strategy because of,

(i) the complexity of the issues,

(ii) the desire to prepare the strategy in co-operation with one or more other jurisdictions, or

(iii) the desire to give priority to the preparation of recovery strategies for other species;

(b) sets out the Minister's reasons for the opinion referred to in clause (a); and

Same

(6) The Minister shall not publish a notice under subsection (5) in respect of a species if he or she is of the opinion that a delay in the preparation of the strategy will jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species in Ontario.

Extirpated species

(7) The Minister shall ensure that a strategy is prepared for the recovery of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated species if the Minister is of the opinion that reintroduction of the species into Ontario is feasible.

Response to recovery strategy

(8) Within nine months after a recovery strategy is prepared under this section, the Minister shall publish a statement that summarizes the actions that the Government of Ontario intends to take in response to the recovery strategy and the Government's priorities with respect to taking those actions.

Implementation

(9) The Minister shall ensure the implementation of the actions referred to in a statement published under subsection (8) that, in the opinion of the Minister, are feasible and are within the responsibilities of the Minister.

Priorities

(10) If statements have been published under subsection (8) in respect of more than one species, subsection (9) is subject to the right of the Minister to determine the relative priority to be given to the implementation of actions referred to in those statements.

Five-year review of progress

(11) Not later than five years after a statement is published under subsection (8), the Minister shall ensure that a review is conducted of progress towards the protection and recovery of the species.

Feasibility

(12) The Minister may consider social and economic factors in reaching his or her opinion on whether something is feasible for the purpose of subsection (7) or (9).

Management plans for special concern species

12. (1) The Minister shall ensure that a management plan is prepared for each species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as a special concern species.

Application

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a species for which the preparation of a recovery strategy or management plan is required under section 37 or 65 of the Species at Risk Act (Canada).

Time limit

(3) The Minister shall ensure that a management plan prepared under subsection (1) is made available to the public under section 51 not later than the fifth anniversary of the date the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as a special concern species.

Same

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a management plan if, before the time limit set out in subsection (3) expires, the Minister publishes a notice on the environmental registry established under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 that,

(a) states that the Minister is of the opinion that additional time is required to prepare the management plan because of,

(i) the complexity of the issues,

(ii) the desire to prepare the management plan in co-operation with one or more other jurisdictions, or

(iii) the desire to give priority to the preparation of recovery strategies or management plans for other species;

(b) sets out the Minister's reasons for the opinion referred to in clause (a); and

Response to management plan

(5) Within nine months after a management plan is prepared under this section, the Minister shall publish a statement that summarizes the actions that the Government of Ontario intends to take in response to the management plan and the Government's priorities with respect to taking those actions.

Implementation

(6) The Minister shall ensure the implementation of the actions referred to in a statement published under subsection (5) that, in the opinion of the Minister, are feasible and are within the responsibilities of the Minister.

Priorities

(7) If statements have been published under subsection (5) or 11 (8) in respect of more than one species, subsection (5) is subject to the right of the Minister to determine the relative priority to be given to the implementation of actions referred to in those statements.

Feasibility

(8) The Minister may consider social and economic factors in reaching his or her opinion on whether something is feasible for the purpose of subsection (6).

Ecosystem approach

13. A recovery strategy or management plan may be prepared under section 11 or 12 using an ecosystem approach.

Recovery strategies and management plans for more than one species

14. A recovery strategy or management plan may be prepared under section 11 or 12 for more than one species, whether or not the species are part of the same ecosystem.

Incorporation of existing plan

15. A recovery strategy or management plan prepared under section 11 or 12 may incorporate all or part of an existing plan that relates to the species.

Agreements, Permits and Other Instruments

Stewardship agreements

16. (1) The Minister may enter into agreements for the purpose of assisting in the protection or recovery of a species specified in the agreement that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List.

Response to recovery strategy

(2) Before entering into an agreement under this section, the Minister shall consider any statement that has been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to a recovery strategy for the species specified in the agreement.

Authorization provided by agreement

(3) An agreement under subsection (1) may authorize a party to the agreement to engage in an activity specified in the agreement that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

Same

(4) An authorization described in subsection (3) does not apply unless the party to the agreement who seeks to rely on the authorization complies with any requirements imposed on the party by the agreement.

Permits

17. (1) The Minister may issue a permit to a person that, with respect to a species specified in the permit that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species, authorizes the person to engage in an activity specified in the permit that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

Limitation

(2) The Minister may issue a permit under this section only if,

(a) the Minister is of the opinion that the activity authorized by the permit is necessary for the protection of human health or safety;

(b) the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is to assist, and that the activity will assist, in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the permit;

(c) the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the permit, but,

(i) the Minister is of the opinion that an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through requirements imposed by conditions of the permit,

(ii) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted, and

(iii) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit; or

(d) the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the permit, but,

(i) the Minister is of the opinion that the activity will result in a significant social or economic benefit to Ontario,

(ii) the Minister has consulted with a person who is considered by the Minister to be an expert on the possible effects of the activity on the species and to be independent of the person who would be authorized by the permit to engage in the activity,

(iii) the person consulted under subclause (ii) has submitted a written report to the Minister on the possible effects of the activity on the species, including the person's opinion on whether the activity will jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species in Ontario,

(iv) the Minister is of the opinion that the activity will not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species in Ontario,

(v) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted,

(vi) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit, and

(vii) the Lieutenant Governor in Council has approved the issuance of the permit.

Response to recovery strategy

(3) Before issuing a permit under this section, the Minister shall consider any statement that has been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to a recovery strategy for the species specified in the permit.

Conditions

(4) A permit issued under this section may contain such conditions as the Minister considers appropriate.

Same

(5) Without limiting the generality of subsection (4), conditions in a permit may,

(a) limit the time during which the permit applies;

(b) limit the circumstances in which the permit applies;

(c) require the holder of the permit to take steps specified in the permit, and require that steps be taken before engaging in the activity authorized by the permit;

(d) require the holder of the permit to furnish security in an amount sufficient to ensure compliance with the permit;

(e) require the holder of the permit to ensure that the activity authorized by the permit, and the effects of the activity, are monitored in accordance with the permit;

(f) require the holder of the permit to rehabilitate habitat damaged or destroyed by the activity authorized by the permit, or to enhance another area so that it could become habitat suitable for the species specified in the permit; or

(g) require the holder of the permit to submit reports to the Minister.

Compliance

(6) An authorization described in subsection (1) does not apply unless the holder of the permit complies with any requirements imposed by the permit.

Amendment or revocation

(7) The Minister may,

(a) with the consent of the holder of a permit issued under this section,

(i) amend the permit, if the permit was issued under clause (2) (a), (b) or (c) and the Minister is of the opinion that he or she would be authorized under the same clause to issue the permit in its amended form,

(ii) amend the permit, if,

(A) the permit was issued under clause (2) (d),

(B) the Minister has consulted with a person who is considered by the Minister to be an expert on the possible effects of the amendment on the species specified in the permit and to be independent of the person who would be authorized by the permit in its amended form to engage in an activity,

(D) the Minister is of the opinion that he or she would be authorized under clause (2) (d) to issue the permit in its amended form, or

(iii) revoke the permit; or

(b) without the consent of the holder of the permit issued under this section, but subject to section 20, amend or revoke the permit, if,

(i) the Minister is of the opinion that the revocation or amendment,

(A) is necessary to prevent jeopardizing the survival or recovery, in Ontario, of the species specified in the permit, or

(B) is necessary for the protection of human health or safety, and

(ii) the Lieutenant Governor in Council has approved the revocation or amendment, in the case of a permit that was issued with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Delegation

(8) In addition to any authority under any Act to delegate powers to persons employed in the Ministry, the Minister may, in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations, delegate his or her powers under this section to a person or body prescribed by the regulations, subject to any limitations prescribed by the regulations.

Instruments under other Acts

Minister's instruments

18. (1) An instrument authorizing a person to engage in an activity has the same effect as a permit issued under section 17 if,

(a) the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved by the Minister;

(b) the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved under a provision of an Act of Ontario or Canada or a provision of a regulation made under an Act of Ontario or Canada;

(c) the instrument affects a species specified in the instrument that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species;

(d) before entering into, issuing, making or approving the instrument, the Minister considered any statement that had been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to a recovery strategy for the species specified in the instrument; and

(e) at the time the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved,

(i) the Minister was of the opinion that the activity authorized by the instrument was necessary for the protection of human health or safety,

(ii) the Minister was of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the instrument was to assist, and that the activity would assist, in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the instrument, or

(iii) the Minister was of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the instrument was not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the instrument, but,

(A) the Minister was of the opinion that an overall benefit to the species would be achieved within a reasonable time through requirements imposed by the instrument,

(B) the Minister was of the opinion that reasonable alternatives had been considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and the best alternative was adopted, and

(C) the Minister was of the opinion that reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on individual members of the species were required by the instrument.

Prescribed instruments

(2) An instrument authorizing a person to engage in an activity has the same effect as a permit issued under section 17 if,

(a) the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved under a provision of an Act of Ontario or Canada or a provision of a regulation made under an Act of Ontario or Canada;

(b) the provision referred to in clause (a) is prescribed by the regulations;

(c) the Minister has entered into an agreement with the authorizing official that, for the purpose of this subsection, applies to the entering into, issuance, making or approval of instruments under the provision referred to in clause (a);

(d) the instrument affects a species specified in the instrument that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species;

(e) before entering into, issuing, making or approving the instrument, the authorizing official considered any statement that had been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to a recovery strategy for the species specified in the instrument; and

(f) at the time the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved,

(i) the authorizing official was of the opinion that the activity authorized by the instrument was necessary for the protection of human health or safety,

(ii) the authorizing official was of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the instrument was to assist, and that the activity would assist, in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the instrument, or

(iii) the authorizing official was of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the instrument was not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species specified in the instrument, but,

(A) the authorizing official was of the opinion that an overall benefit to the species would be achieved within a reasonable time through requirements imposed by the instrument,

(B) the authorizing official was of the opinion that reasonable alternatives had been considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and the best alternative was adopted, and

(C) the authorizing official was of the opinion that reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on individual members of the species were required by the instrument.

Application of subs. (2)

(3) Subsection (2) applies only if the instrument was entered into, issued, made or approved,

(a) after the regulation referred to in clause (2) (b) came into force; and

(b) during a period when the agreement referred to in clause (2) (c) was in effect.

Compliance

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to an instrument unless the person seeking to rely on the instrument has complied with any requirements imposed by the instrument.

Definitions

(5) In this section,

"authorizing official" means,

(a) with respect to an agreement that authorizes a person to engage in an activity, any federal, provincial or municipal official who entered into the agreement, or

(b) with respect to any other instrument, the person who issued, made or approved the instrument; ("agent autorisateur")

"instrument" means an agreement, permit, licence, order, approved plan or other similar document. ("acte")

Aboriginal persons

19. (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of this Act, enter into an agreement with any of the following persons or bodies that relates to a species specified in the agreement that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species:

1. A band as defined in the Indian Act (Canada).

2. A tribal council.

3. An organization that represents a territorially-based aboriginal community.

Authorization

(2) An agreement under subsection (1) may authorize aboriginal persons described in the agreement or a party to the agreement to engage in an activity specified in the agreement that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

Permits

(3) The Minister may issue a permit to a person or body referred to in subsection (1) that, with respect to a species specified in the permit that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species, authorizes aboriginal persons described in the permit or the holder of the permit to engage in an activity specified in the permit that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

Limitation

(4) The Minister shall not enter into an agreement or issue a permit under this section if he or she is of the opinion that the agreement or permit would authorize an activity that would jeopardize the survival or recovery, in Ontario, of the species specified in the agreement or permit.

Response to recovery strategy

(5) Before entering into an agreement or issuing a permit under this section, the Minister shall consider any statement that has been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to a recovery strategy for the species specified in the agreement or permit.

Permit conditions

(6) Subsections 17 (4) and (5) apply, with necessary modifications, to a permit issued under this section.

Reliance on authorization

(7) An authorization described in subsection (2) or (3) does not apply to,

(a) an aboriginal person who seeks to rely on the authorization, unless he or she complies with any requirements imposed on the aboriginal person by the agreement or permit; or

(b) a person or body referred to in subsection (1) who seeks to rely on the authorization, unless the person or body complies with any requirements imposed on it by the agreement or permit.

Compliance with permit

(8) The holder of a permit issued under this section and the aboriginal persons who are authorized by the permit to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10 shall comply with any requirements imposed on them by the permit.

Amendment or revocation of permit

(9) The Minister may,

(a) with the consent of the holder of a permit issued under this section, revoke or amend the permit; or

(b) without the consent of the holder of a permit issued under this section, but subject to section 20, revoke or amend the permit, if the Minister is of the opinion that the revocation or amendment,

(i) is necessary to prevent jeopardizing the survival or recovery, in Ontario, of the species specified in the permit, or

(ii) is necessary for the protection of human health or safety.

Amendment or revocation of permits without consent

20. (1) Before amending or revoking a permit under clause 17 (7) (b) or 19 (9) (b), the Minister shall give the holder of the permit notice of the intention to amend or revoke the permit.

Contents of notice

(2) The notice shall,

(a) set out the amendments that the Minister intends to make to the permit, or state that the Minister intends to revoke the permit, as the case may be;

(b) set out the Minister's reasons for amending or revoking the permit; and

Service of notice

(3) The notice shall be served personally or by registered mail addressed to the holder of the permit at the person's last known address.

Registered mail

(4) A notice served by registered mail shall be deemed to have been served on the fifth day after the day of mailing, unless the person served establishes that the person did not, acting in good faith, through absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond the person's control, receive the notice until a later date.

Hearing

(5) A person who is served with a notice under subsection (3) may require a hearing by mailing or delivering to the Minister, within 15 days after service of the notice, a written request for a hearing that includes a statement of the reasons for requesting the hearing.

No request of hearing

(6) If the Minister does not receive a request for a hearing in accordance with subsection (5), the Minister may amend or revoke the permit as set out in the notice under subsection (2).

Appointment of hearing officer

(7) If the Minister receives a request for a hearing in accordance with subsection (5), the Minister shall appoint a hearing officer to hold the hearing.

Parties

(8) The person who required the hearing and such other persons as the hearing officer may specify are parties to the hearing.

Minister entitled to be heard

(9) The Minister is entitled to be heard at the hearing.

Procedure

(10) Sections 5.1, 5.2, 6 to 15.1, 16, 21, 21.1, 22 and 23 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act apply, with necessary modifications, to the hearing.

Report

(11) After the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a report to the Minister that contains,

(a) a summary of the evidence presented at the hearing;

(b) the hearing officer's opinion on the merits of amending or revoking the permit, having regard to the requirements of clause 17 (7) (b) or 19 (9) (b), as the case may be, and the hearing officer's recommendations; and

Minister's decision

(12) After considering the hearing officer's report, the Minister may, subject to clause 17 (7) (b) or 19 (9) (b), as the case may be,

(a) amend the permit as set out in the notice under subsection (2) or in another manner;

(b) revoke the permit as set out in the notice under subsection (2), or amend the permit instead of revoking it as set out in the notice under subsection (2); or

Notice of decision

(13) The Minister shall give notice of his or her decision under subsection (12) and a copy of the hearing officer's report to the parties to the hearing.

Enforcement

Enforcement officers

21. (1) The following persons are enforcement officers for the purposes of this Act:

1. Every person who is a conservation officer for the purposes of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997.

2. Every person designated by the Minister as a park warden for a provincial park.

3. Such other persons or classes of persons as may be appointed or designated by the Minister as enforcement officers for the purposes of this Act.

Park wardens

(2) Paragraph 2 of subsection (1) only applies in the provincial park for which the person is designated as park warden.

Production of identification

22. An enforcement officer who is acting under this Act shall, on request, produce identification.

Inspection to determine compliance

23. (1) On application without notice, a justice may issue a warrant authorizing an enforcement officer to enter and inspect any land or other place if the justice is satisfied by information under oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an inspection under this section would assist in determining whether there is compliance with section 9, 10 or 49.

Inspection without warrant

(2) An enforcement officer may enter and inspect any land or other place without a warrant if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that the conditions for obtaining a warrant under subsection (1) exist but that exigent circumstances make it impractical to obtain a warrant under subsection (1).

Other inspections without warrant

(3) An enforcement officer may enter and inspect any land or other place without a warrant for the purpose of determining whether there is compliance with any of the following provisions:

1. Any provision of an agreement entered into under section 16 or 19, if the agreement authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

2. Any provision of a permit issued under section 17 or 19.

3. Any provision of an order made under section 27, 28 or 41.

Dwellings

(4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not authorize the enforcement officer to enter a building or part of a building that is being used as a dwelling.

Warrant; compliance with agreements, permits, orders

(5) On application without notice, a justice may issue a warrant authorizing an enforcement officer to enter and inspect any land or other place, including a building or part of a building that is being used as a dwelling, if the justice is satisfied by information under oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that,

(a) an inspection under this section would assist in determining whether there is compliance with a provision referred to in subsection (3); and

(b) entry has been refused or is likely to be refused.

Duration

(6) A warrant issued under subsection (1) or (5) is valid for 30 days or for such shorter period as may be specified in it.

Further warrants

(7) A justice may issue further warrants under subsection (1) or (5).

Time of entry

(8) An entry under this section shall be made at a time that is reasonable in view of any activity that is conducted on the land or in the place.

Powers during inspection

(9) During an inspection under this section, the enforcement officer may,

(a) be accompanied and assisted by any person authorized by the enforcement officer;

(b) inspect any thing that is relevant to the inspection;

(c) use or cause to be used any computer or other device that contains or is able to retrieve information, for the purpose of examining information contained in or available to the computer or other device, and produce or cause to be produced a printout or other output from the computer or other device;

(d) conduct any tests, take any measurements, take any specimens or samples, set up any equipment and make any photographic or other records that may be relevant to the inspection; and

(e) ask questions that may be relevant to the inspection.

Provision of information

(10) A person shall, during an inspection under this section, provide information requested by the enforcement officer that is relevant to the inspection.

Copies

(11) The enforcement officer may make copies of any thing inspected or produced during the inspection.

Removal

(12) The enforcement officer may remove any thing for the purpose of making copies or of further inspection, but the copying or further inspection shall be carried out with reasonable dispatch and any thing removed shall be returned promptly to the person from whom it was taken unless it is not reasonable for the person to expect the thing to be returned.

Inspection of vehicles, boats, aircraft

24. (1) An enforcement officer may stop a vehicle, boat or aircraft if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that stopping the vehicle, boat or aircraft would assist in determining whether there is compliance with,

(a) section 9, 10 or 49;

(b) any provision of an agreement entered into under section 16 or 19, if the agreement authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10;

(d) any provision of an order made under section 27, 28 or 41.

Operator to stop

(2) On the enforcement officer's signal to stop, the operator of the vehicle, boat or aircraft shall immediately stop and produce for inspection any thing requested by the officer that is relevant to the purpose for which the vehicle, boat or aircraft was stopped.

Stop signals

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), signals to stop include,

(a) intermittent flashes of red light, in the case of a vehicle;

(b) intermittent flashes of blue light, in the case of a boat; and

Searches with respect to offences

25. (1) On application without notice, a justice may issue a warrant authorizing an enforcement officer to use any investigative technique or procedure or to do any thing described in the warrant if the justice is satisfied by information under oath that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence under this Act has been or is being committed and that evidence concerning the offence will be obtained through the use of the technique or procedure or the doing of the thing.

Assistance

(2) The warrant may authorize any person specified in the warrant to accompany and assist the enforcement officer in the execution of the warrant.

Terms and conditions of warrant

(3) The warrant shall authorize the enforcement officer to enter and search the building or other place for which the warrant was issued and, without limiting the powers of the justice under subsection (1), the warrant may, in respect of the alleged offence, authorize the enforcement officer to conduct any tests, take any measurements, take any specimens or samples, set up any equipment, make any excavations and make any photographic or other records that may be relevant to the search.

Duration

(4) The warrant is valid for 30 days or for such shorter period as may be specified in it.

Further warrants

(5) A justice may issue further warrants under subsection (1).

Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act

(6) Subsections (1) to (5) do not prevent an enforcement officer from obtaining a search warrant under Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act.

Searches without warrant

(7) If an enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe that there is in a building or other place any thing that will afford evidence of an offence under this Act but that the time required to obtain a warrant would lead to the loss, removal or destruction of the evidence, the enforcement officer may, without a warrant, enter and search the building or other place.

Dwellings

(8) Subsection (7) does not apply to a building or part of a building that is being used as a dwelling.

Computers, etc.

(9) An enforcement officer who is conducting a search that is authorized by a warrant or by subsection (7) may, for the purpose of examining information contained in or available to any computer or other device that contains or is able to retrieve information, use or cause to be used the computer or other device and produce or cause to be produced a printout or other output from the computer or other device.

Seizure and forfeiture

26. (1) An enforcement officer who is lawfully in a building or other place may, without a warrant, seize any thing that he or she has reasonable grounds to believe,

(a) has been obtained by the commission of an offence under this Act;

(b) has been used in the commission of an offence under this Act;

(d) is intermixed with a thing referred to in clause (a), (b) or (c).

Presence pursuant to warrant

(2) If the enforcement officer is in the building or other place pursuant to a warrant, subsection (1) applies to any thing, whether or not it is specified in the warrant.

Safekeeping

(3) An enforcement officer shall deliver any thing that he or she seizes to a person authorized by the Minister for safekeeping.

Leaving with occupant

(4) Despite subsection (3), an enforcement officer may leave a thing that he or she seizes in the custody of the occupant of the building or other place in which it was seized.

Occupant to safeguard

(5) If any thing is left in the custody of an occupant under subsection (4), the occupant shall safeguard the thing until,

(a) an enforcement officer removes the thing;

(b) the occupant is notified by an enforcement officer that the investigation has concluded and that a charge will not be laid; or

(c) the defendant is acquitted or the charge is dismissed or withdrawn, if a charge is laid and the charge is finally disposed of.

Thing taken before justice

(6) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to a thing that is required to be carried before a justice by a search warrant issued under Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act.

Return of seized things

(7) Any thing seized and not forfeited under this section shall be returned to the person from whom it was seized if,

(a) a charge is not laid at the conclusion of the investigation; or

(b) a charge is laid but, when the charge is finally disposed of, the defendant is acquitted or the charge is dismissed or withdrawn.

Payment of fine

(8) If a person is convicted of an offence and a fine is imposed,

(a) a thing seized in connection with the offence and not forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario under this section shall not be returned until the fine has been paid; and

(b) if payment of the fine is in default within the meaning of section 69 of the Provincial Offences Act, a justice may order that the thing be forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario.

Forfeiture if identity unknown

(9) If the identity of the person from whom a thing was seized has not been ascertained within 30 days after the seizure, the thing is forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario.

Forfeiture of dead animals, etc.

(10) Despite any order under Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act, any dead animal, plant or other organism that is seized is forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario if, in the opinion of the person who has custody of it, it is likely to spoil.

Forfeiture of live animals, etc.

(11) Despite any order under Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act, any live animal, plant or other organism that is seized is forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario if, in the opinion of the person who has custody of it, it cannot properly be maintained in custody.

Forfeiture on conviction

(12) If a person is convicted of an offence under this Act,

(a) any animal, plant or other organism seized in connection with the offence, and any cage, shelter or other container seized in connection with the animal, plant or other organism, are forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario; and

(b) the justice may order that any other thing seized in connection with the offence be forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario.

Application of subs. (12)

(13) Subsection (12) applies in addition to any other penalty.

Forfeiture if possession is an offence

(14) On motion in a proceeding under the Provincial Offences Act, or on application in accordance with the rules of court applicable to applications under that Act, a justice shall determine whether possession of a thing seized is an offence under this Act and, if it is, the justice shall order that the thing be forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario.

Application of subs. (14)

(15) Subsection (14) applies whether or not a charge is laid in respect of the thing seized and, if a charge is laid, subsection (14) applies even if the defendant is acquitted or the charge is dismissed or withdrawn.

Disposition of forfeited thing

(16) A thing forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario shall be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the Minister.

Application by person with interest

(17) If a thing is forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario following a conviction under this Act, a person who claims an interest in the thing and who is not the person from whom the thing was seized or the person who was convicted may apply to a justice, not later than 30 days after the thing is forfeited, on notice to the Minister and to the person from whom the thing was seized, for an order directing that the thing be released to the person claiming the interest.

Conditions

(18) An order made under subsection (17) is subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the justice.

Exception

(19) Subsections (17) and (18) do not apply to a thing forfeited under subsection (10) or (11).

Interpretation

(20) Subsection 9 (6) applies, with necessary modifications, to the references in this section to animals, plants and other organisms, and those references include references to any part of an animal, plant or other organism.

Stop order

27. (1) An enforcement officer may make an order requiring a person to stop engaging in or not to engage in an activity if the enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is engaging in the activity, has engaged in the activity or is about to engage in the activity and, as a result, is contravening, has contravened or is about to contravene any of the following provisions:

1. Section 9 or 10.

2. Any provision of an agreement entered into under section 16 or 19, if the agreement authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

3. Any provision of a permit issued under section 17 or 19.

4. Any provision of an order made under section 27, 28 or 41.

Information to be included in order

(2) The order shall,

(a) specify the provision that the enforcement officer believes is being, has been or is about to be contravened;

(b) briefly describe the nature of the contravention and its location; and

Habitat protection order

28. (1) The Minister may make an order described in subsection (2) if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is engaging in or is about to engage in an activity that is destroying or seriously damaging or is about to destroy or seriously damage an important feature of an area described in clause (b) of the definition of "habitat" in subsection 2 (1) for a species and one or more of the following criteria are satisfied:

1. The species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species and a regulation made under clause 55 (1) (a) is in force that applies to the species, but the Minister is of the opinion that the destruction or damage involves an area that is not within the area prescribed by that regulation.

2. The species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated species and no regulation is in force that prescribes the species for the purpose of clause 10 (1) (b).

3. The species is not listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species, the Minister has received a report from COSSARO classifying or reclassifying the species as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species, and the amendment to the Species at Risk in Ontario List that is required by subsection 7 (4) has not yet come into force.

4. The species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species under clause 7 (7) (c) or (d), and, pursuant to subsection 10 (3), clause 10 (1) (a) does not apply to the species.

Contents of order

(2) The order may include any one or more of the following orders:

1. An order requiring the person to stop engaging in or not to engage in the activity.

2. An order prohibiting the person from engaging in the activity except in accordance with directions set out in the order.

3. An order directing the person to take steps set out in the order to rehabilitate any area damaged or destroyed by the activity.

Information to be included in order

(3) The order shall,

(a) identify the species that the order relates to;

(b) briefly describe the nature of the activity and the important feature of the area affected by the activity; and

Service of order

29. (1) An order under section 27 or 28 shall be served personally or by registered mail addressed to the person against whom the order is made at the person's last known address.

Registered mail

(2) An order served by registered mail shall be deemed to have been served on the fifth day after the day of mailing, unless the person served establishes that the person did not, acting in good faith, through absence, accident, illness or other cause beyond the person's control, receive the order until a later date.

Effective date

(3) An order under section 27 or 28 takes effect when it is served, or at such later time as is specified in the order.

Hearing

30. (1) A person who is served with an order under section 29 may require a hearing by mailing or delivering to the Minister, within 15 days after service of the order, a written request for a hearing that includes a statement of the reasons for requesting the hearing.

Appointment of hearing officer

(2) If the Minister receives a request for a hearing in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister shall appoint a hearing officer to hold the hearing.

No stay of order

(3) The requirement for the hearing does not stay the order.

Parties

(4) The person who required the hearing and such other persons as the hearing officer may specify are parties to the hearing.

Minister entitled to be heard

(5) The Minister is entitled to be heard at the hearing.

Procedure

(6) Sections 5.1, 5.2, 6 to 15.1, 16, 21, 21.1, 22 and 23 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act apply, with necessary modifications, to the hearing.

Report

(7) After the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a report to the Minister that contains,

(a) a summary of the evidence presented at the hearing;

(b) the hearing officer's opinion on the merits of the order and the hearing officer's recommendations; and

Minister's decision

(8) After considering the hearing officer's report, the Minister may,

(a) confirm the order;

(b) amend the order; or

Notice of decision

(9) The Minister shall give notice of his or her decision under subsection (8) and a copy of the hearing officer's report to the parties to the hearing.

Arrest without warrant

31. (1) An enforcement officer may arrest without warrant a person that he or she has reasonable grounds to believe is committing, has committed or is about to commit an offence under this Act.

Release by enforcement officer

(2) If an enforcement officer arrests a person under this section, he or she shall, as soon as practicable, release the person from custody, unless the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that,

(a) it is necessary in the public interest for the person arrested to be detained, having regard to all the circumstances, including the need to,

(i) establish the identity of the person,

(ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence, or

(iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence; or

(b) the person arrested, if released, will not respond to a summons or offence notice or will not appear in court.

Person not released

(3) Subsections 149 (2) and (3) and section 150 of the Provincial Offences Act apply if the person arrested is not released under subsection (2).

Necessary force

32. An enforcement officer may use as much force as is necessary to exercise any of his or her powers under this Act.

Incidental authority to pass through

33. An enforcement officer who has the power to enter any land, building or other place under this Act, and any person authorized under this Act to accompany the enforcement officer, may enter and pass through other private property for the purpose of reaching the land, building or other place.

Exemptions from Act, enforcement officers

34. The Minister may, for the purpose of investigations and other law enforcement activities under this Act, exempt an enforcement officer from the application of any provision of this Act, subject to such conditions as the Minister considers necessary.

Obstruction of enforcement officer

35. A person shall not,

(a) knowingly make a false or misleading statement to an enforcement officer who is acting under this Act; or

(b) otherwise obstruct an enforcement officer who is acting under this Act.

Offences and Penalties

Offences

36. (1) A person is guilty of an offence if the person contravenes any of the following provisions:

1. Subsection 9 (1), 10 (1), 24 (2) or 26 (5), section 35, or subsection 49 (1) or (2).

2. Any provision of an agreement entered into under section 16 or 19, if the agreement authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited by section 9 or 10.

3. Any provision of a permit issued under section 17 or 19.

4. Any provision of an order made under section 27, 28 or 41.

Attempts

(2) A person who attempts to do anything that would be an offence under this Act is guilty of that offence.

Corporations

37. If a corporation commits an offence under this Act, an officer, director, employee or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted for the offence.

Employers and principals

38. In a prosecution for an offence under this Act, it is sufficient proof of the offence to establish that it was committed by an employee or agent of the defendant acting in the course of employment or agency, whether or not the employee or agent is identified or has been prosecuted for the offence, unless the defendant establishes that,

(a) the offence was committed without the knowledge of the defendant; and

(b) the offence was committed without the consent of the defendant.

Defence

39. A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this Act if the person establishes that,

(a) the person exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence; or

(b) the person honestly and reasonably believed in the existence of facts that, if true, would render the person's conduct innocent.

Penalties

40. (1) A person convicted of an offence under this Act is liable,

(a) in the case of a first offence under this Act,

(i) to a fine of not more than $1,000,000, in the case of a corporation, or

(ii) to a fine of not more than $250,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both, in the case of any other person; and

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence under this Act,

(i) to a fine of not more than $2,000,000, in the case of a corporation, or

(ii) to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both, in the case of any other person.

More than one animal, plant, etc.

(2) Despite subsection (1), if an offence involves more than one animal, plant or other organism, the maximum fine that may be imposed is the amount that would otherwise apply under subsection (1), multiplied by the number of animals, plants and other organisms that are involved.

Monetary benefit

(3) The court that convicts a person of an offence under this Act, in addition to any other penalty imposed by the court, may increase a fine imposed on the person by an amount equal to the amount of the monetary benefit that was acquired by or that accrued to the person as a result of the commission of the offence, despite the maximum fine specified in subsection (1) or (2).

Order for compliance

41. (1) The court that convicts a person of an offence under this Act may, in addition to imposing a fine or imprisonment, make any of the following orders against the person:

1. An order not to engage in any activity that could, in the opinion of the court, result in the continuation or repetition of the offence.

2. An order to take any action that the court considers appropriate to remedy or avoid any harm to a species that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence, including action to rehabilitate habitat damaged or destroyed by the offence.

3. An order to pay the Government of Ontario or any other person for all or part of any costs incurred to remedy or avoid any harm to a species that resulted or may result from the commission of the offence, including action to rehabilitate habitat damaged or destroyed by the offence.

4. An order to pay any person an amount for the purpose of assisting in the protection or recovery of the species in respect of which the offence was committed.

5. An order to take such other steps as are specified in the order to comply with this Act.

6. An order to pay all or part of any expenses incurred by the Minister or any other person with respect to the seizure, storage or disposition of any thing seized in connection with the offence.

Compliance with order

(2) A person shall comply with an order made under this section.

Failure to comply

(3) If a person fails to comply with an order to take action under paragraph 2 of subsection (1), the Minister may take such action as he or she considers appropriate to implement the order, and any cost or expense incurred by the Minister is a debt due to the Crown and may be recovered by the Minister in a court of competent jurisdiction in an action against the person.

Presiding judge

42. The Crown may, by notice to the clerk of the Ontario Court of Justice, require that a provincial judge preside over a prosecution for an offence under this Act.

Limitation period

43. A prosecution for an offence under this Act shall not be commenced more than five years after the offence was committed.

Similar species

44. In a prosecution under this Act,

(a) a living or dead animal, plant or other organism that is not easily distinguishable from a member of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be a member of that species; and

(b) a part of a living or dead animal, plant or other organism that is not easily distinguishable from a part of a member of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be a part of a member of that species.

Proof of inspected or seized things

45. In a prosecution under this Act, a copy of a document or other thing purporting to be certified by an enforcement officer as a true copy of a document or other thing inspected or seized under this Act or Part VIII of the Provincial Offences Act is admissible in evidence as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the document or other thing.

Miscellaneous

Existing aboriginal or treaty rights

46. For greater certainty, nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing aboriginal or treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program

47. (1) A program to be known in English as the Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program and in French as Programme d'intendance des espèces en péril en Ontario is hereby established.

Purpose

(2) The purpose of the program is to promote stewardship activities that relate to species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List, including,

(a) the preservation and rehabilitation of habitat, and the enhancement of other areas so that they can become habitat;

(b) the implementation of recovery strategies and management plans;

(d) other activities to assist in the protection or recovery of species.

Grants

(3) As part of the program, the Minister may make grants for the purpose described in subsection (2).

Advisory committee

48. Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Minister may establish a committee to make recommendations to the Minister on any matter specified by the Minister that relates to,

(a) the role, in the administration of this Act, of the precautionary principle, which, as described in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, states that, where there is a threat of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to avoid or minimize such a threat;

(b) the development and delivery of incentive programs and stewardship programs, including the Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program;

(d) the development and delivery of public education and outreach programs;

(e) the preparation and implementation of recovery strategies and management plans under sections 11 and 12;

(f) the assembly of scientific information, including community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge, that should be given to COSSARO to assist it in the classification of species;

(g) the role of agreements and permits under this Act in assisting in the protection and recovery of species;

(h) approaches that may be used under this Act to promote sustainable social and economic activities that assist in the protection or recovery of species;

(i) the regulations made under this Act; or

(j) such other matters as the Minister may specify.

Laws of other jurisdictions

49. (1) A person shall not possess a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, any part of a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, or anything derived from a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, if the thing possessed, or the animal, plant or other organism,

(a) was killed, captured, taken, possessed, collected, transported, bought, sold, leased or traded contrary to a law that is described in subsection (3); or

(b) was removed from another jurisdiction, contrary to a law of that jurisdiction that is described in subsection (3).

Sale prohibited in other jurisdiction

(2) A person shall not buy, sell, lease, trade or offer to buy, sell, lease or trade a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, any part of a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, or anything derived from a living or dead animal, plant or other organism, that has been transported into Ontario if, under a law that is described in subsection (3), the purchase, sale, lease or trade would not be permitted in the jurisdiction from which the animal, plant or other organism was originally exported.

Applicable laws

(3) The laws referred to in subsections (1) and (2) are laws of another jurisdiction that protect animals, plants or other organisms that are extirpated, endangered or threatened in that jurisdiction, or animals, plants or other organisms, however described, that are similarly at risk in that jurisdiction.

Defence

(4) A person shall not be convicted of an offence for contravening subsection (1) or (2) if the person establishes that the person honestly and reasonably believed that the law of the other jurisdiction,

(a) did not prohibit the killing, capturing, taking, possessing, collecting, transporting, buying, selling, leasing or trading, as the case may be, of the thing that the person is alleged to have possessed or the animal, plant or other organism, in the case of a prosecution for contravening clause (1) (a);

(b) did not prohibit the removal from the other jurisdiction of the thing that the person is alleged to have possessed or the animal, plant or other organism, in the case of a prosecution for contravening clause (1) (b); or

(c) permitted the purchase, sale, lease or trade, as the case may be, of the thing that the person is alleged to have bought, sold, leased, traded or offered to buy, sell, lease or trade, in the case of a prosecution for contravening subsection (2).

Interpretation

(5) Subsection 9 (6) applies, with necessary modifications, to the references in this section to animals, plants and other organisms.

Fees

50. (1) The Minister may establish and charge,

(a) fees related to entering into agreements or issuing permits under this Act; and

(b) fees for the use of facilities, equipment, services or other things provided by the Ministry relating to species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List.

Refund

(2) The Minister may direct the refund of all or part of a fee if, in the Minister's opinion, it is equitable to do so.

Payment required

(3) A person shall pay any fees charged by the Minister under this Act.

Information for public

51. The Minister shall ensure that the following information is made available to the public:

1. General information about this Act and the regulations.

2. The most recent information that the Minister has received from COSSARO under subsection 4 (3).

3. All reports submitted to the Minister by COSSARO under section 6.

4. All recovery strategies and management plans that have been prepared under sections 11 and 12, and all statements published by the Minister under subsections 11 (8) and 12 (5).

5. General information about the implementation of recovery strategies and management plans.

6. General information about agreements entered into under sections 16 and 19 and permits issued under sections 17 and 19.

7. General information about the enforcement of this Act.

Information that could lead to contravention

52. Nothing in this Act requires the Minister to make information available to the public or otherwise disclose information if doing so could reasonably be expected to lead to a contravention of section 9 or 10.

Personal information

53. The Ministry may, for the purposes of this Act, collect personal information within the meaning of section 38 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Application to Crown

54. (1) This Act is binding on the Crown.

Protection and recovery activities

(2) Nothing in this Act prohibits any activity engaged in by the Ministry to assist in the protection or recovery of species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List.

Regulations

55. (1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 57, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(a) prescribing, for the purpose of clause (a) of the definition of "habitat" in subsection 2 (1), an area as the habitat of a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species;

(b) prescribing exemptions from subsection 9 (1) or 10 (1), subject to any conditions or restrictions prescribed by the regulations;

(c) providing that subsection 11 (1) or (7) has no application to a species, if subsections 9 (1) and 10 (1) have no application to the species;

(d) governing the preparation of recovery strategies under section 11 and management plans under section 12;

(e) prescribing or respecting any matter that this Act refers to as a matter prescribed by the regulations or as otherwise dealt with by the regulations, other than regulations that are required by section 7.

Consideration of recovery strategy

(2) Before a regulation is made under clause (1) (a) prescribing an area as the habitat of a species, the Minister shall consider any recovery strategy that has been prepared for the species under section 11 and any statement that has been published under subsection 11 (8) with respect to the recovery strategy.

Description of habitat

(3) Without limiting the generality of clause (1) (a), a regulation under that clause prescribing an area as the habitat of a species,

(a) may describe the area by,

(i) describing specific boundaries for the area,

(ii) describing features of the area, or

(iii) describing the area in any other manner;

(b) may prescribe areas where the species lives, used to live or is believed to be capable of living; and

(c) may prescribe an area that is larger or smaller than the area described by clause (b) of the definition of "habitat" in subsection 2 (1).

Conditions and restrictions on exemptions

(4) Without limiting the generality of clause (1) (b), a regulation under that clause may, as a condition or restriction on an exemption, provide that the exemption only applies to a person if the person complies with an agreement entered into between the person and the Minister.

Habitat regulations

56. (1) If a species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species, the Minister shall, not later than the date described in subsection (2),

(a) give notice to the public under section 16 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 of a proposal to make a regulation under clause 55 (1) (a) that would prescribe an area as the habitat of the species;

(b) publish a notice on the environmental registry established under the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 that,

(i) states that the Minister is of the opinion that additional time is required to prepare a proposal to make a regulation described in clause (a),

(ii) sets out the Minister's reasons for the opinion referred to in subclause (i), and

(iii) provides an estimate of when notice of a proposal to make a regulation described in clause (a) will be given to the public under section 16 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993; or

(i) states that the Minister is of the opinion that no regulation under clause 55 (1) (a) is required with respect to the species because,

(A) the only locations in Ontario where the species is known to live in the wild are on federal land within the meaning of the Species at Risk Act (Canada),

(B) pursuant to a regulation made under clause 55 (1) (b), clause 10 (1) (a) has no application to the species, or

(ii) sets out the reasons for the Minister's opinion referred to in subclause (i).

Time period

(2) The date referred to in subsection (1) is,

(a) the second anniversary of the date the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered species; or

(b) the third anniversary of the date the species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as a threatened species.

Transition

(3) This section does not apply to a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species under clause 7 (7) (a), (c) or (d).

Special requirements for certain regulations

57. (1) If a proposal for a regulation under subsection 55 (1) is under consideration in the Ministry, the proposed regulation would apply to a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species, and either or both of the following criteria apply, the Minister shall consult with a person who is considered by the Minister to be an expert on the possible effects of the proposed regulation on the species:

1. In the case of any proposed regulation under subsection 55 (1), the Minister is of the opinion that the regulation is likely to jeopardize the survival of the species in Ontario or to have any other significant adverse effect on the species.

2. In the case of a proposed regulation under clause 55 (1) (a), the Minister is of the opinion that the regulation is likely to result in a significant reduction in the number of members of the species that live in the wild in Ontario.

Limitation

(2) If the Minister is required by subsection (1) to consult with a person who is considered by the Minister to be an expert on the possible effects of a proposed regulation on a species, the Minister shall not recommend the regulation to the Lieutenant Governor in Council, and the Lieutenant Governor in Council shall not make the regulation, unless,

(a) the Minister is of the opinion that the regulation will not result in the species no longer living in the wild in Ontario;

(b) the person consulted by the Minister under subsection (1) submitted a written report to the Minister on the possible effects of the proposed regulation on the species and the report included the person's opinion on,

(i) in the case of any proposed regulation under subsection 55 (1), whether the regulation will jeopardize the survival of the species in Ontario or have any other significant adverse effect on the species, and, if so, whether the regulation will result in the species no longer living in the wild in Ontario, and

(ii) in the case of a proposed regulation under clause 55 (1) (a), whether the regulation will result in a significant reduction in the number of members of the species that live in the wild in Ontario;

(i) entering into one or more agreements under section 16 or issuing one or more permits under section 17, or

(ii) making a different regulation;

(d) the Minister gave notice of the proposal for a regulation to the public under section 16 of the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993 at least two months before the day the regulation is made; and

(e) the notice given under clause (d),

(i) in the case of any proposed regulation under subsection 55 (1),

(A) set out the Minister's opinion on whether the regulation will jeopardize the survival of the species in Ontario or have any other significant adverse effect on the species, and

(B) stated that the Minister is of the opinion that the regulation will not result in the species no longer living in the wild in Ontario,

(ii) in the case of a proposed regulation under clause 55 (1) (a), set out the Minister's opinion on whether the regulation will result in a significant reduction in the number of members of the species that live in the wild in Ontario,

(iii) gave the Minister's reasons for the opinions referred to in subclauses (i) and (ii),

(iv) set out a copy of the report referred to in clause (b),

(v) set out alternatives to the proposal for a regulation that the Minister considered under clause (c),

(vi) set out the reasons for making the proposed regulation, including any significant social or economic benefit to Ontario, and

(vii) set out steps that could be taken to minimize any adverse effects of the proposed regulation on individual members of the species.

Fundamental changes in a proposal

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the question of whether a proposal has been so fundamentally altered as to become a new proposal is in the sole discretion of the Minister.

Interpretation

(4) In this section,

"proposal for a regulation" has the same meaning as in the Environmental Bill of Rights, 1993.

Transition

58. (1) The Minister may issue a permit to a person that, with respect to the following species, authorizes the person to engage in an activity specified in the permit on Pelee Island that would otherwise be prohibited by section 5 of the Endangered Species Act:

1. Coluber constrictor foxii Baird and Girard commonly known as Blue Racer.

2. Nerodia sipedon insularum Conant and Clay commonly known as Lake Erie Water Snake.

Limitation

(2) The Minister may issue a permit under this section only if the Minister is of the opinion that the main purpose of the activity authorized by the permit is not to assist in the protection or recovery of the species listed in subsection (1), but,

(a) the Minister is of the opinion that an overall benefit to the species will be achieved within a reasonable time through requirements imposed by conditions of the permit;

(b) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable alternatives have been considered, including alternatives that would not adversely affect the species, and the best alternative has been adopted; and

(c) the Minister is of the opinion that reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on individual members of the species are required by conditions of the permit.

Conditions

(3) A permit issued under this section may contain such conditions as the Minister considers appropriate.

Compliance

(4) An authorization described in subsection (1) does not apply unless the holder of the permit complies with any requirements imposed by the permit.

Repeal

(5) This section is repealed on the day section 59 comes into force.

Amendments and Repeals

Endangered Species Act

59. The Endangered Species Act is repealed.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

60. (1) Section 2 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 is amended by striking out "the Endangered Species Act" and substituting "the Endangered Species Act, 2007".

(2) Clause 40 (2) (b) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) a person who keeps in captivity for the purpose of personal education a single game reptile, game amphibian, specially protected mammal, specially protected reptile, specially protected amphibian or specially protected invertebrate, unless it belongs to a species that is listed on,

(i) the Species at Risk in Ontario List under the Endangered Species Act, 2007, or

(ii) the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under the Species at Risk Act (Canada); or

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

61. Section 21.1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Species at risk

21.1 A head may refuse to disclose a record where the disclosure could reasonably be expected to lead to,

(a) killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking a living member of a species, contrary to clause 9 (1) (a) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007;

(b) possessing, transporting, collecting, buying, selling, leasing, trading or offering to buy, sell, lease or trade a living or dead member of a species, any part of a living or dead member of a species, or anything derived from a living or dead member of a species, contrary to clause 9 (1) (b) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007; or

(c) damaging or destroying the habitat of a species, contrary to clause 10 (1) (a) or (b) of the Endangered Species Act, 2007.

Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003

62. Section 8 of the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003 is amended by striking out "natural resources in the Park, including a plan for the recovery of an extirpated, endangered, threatened or vulnerable species" at the end and substituting "natural resources in the Park, including species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List under the Endangered Species Act, 2007".

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

63. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act comes into force on,

(a) June 30, 2008; or

(b) such earlier day as may be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

Same

(2) Section 62 comes into force on the later of the following days:

1. The day section 7 comes into force.

2. The day section 8 of the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003 comes into force.

Same

(3) Section 58, this section and section 64 come into force on the day this Act receives Royal Assent.

Short title

64. The short title of this Act is the Endangered Species Act, 2007.

Schedule 1
Transition - SPECIES Declared to be threatened with extinction in regulation 328 of the revised regulations of ontario, 1990

(Clause 7 (7) (a))

Mosses

Spoon-leaved Moss (Bryoandersonia illecebra)

Vascular Plants

Bird's-foot Violet (Viola pedata)

Blunt-lobed Woodsia (Woodsia obtusa)

Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata)

Drooping Trillium (Trillium flexipes)

Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus¹ (Opuntia humifusa)

False Hop Sedge (Carex lupuliformis)

Few-flowered Club-rush or Bashful Bulrush² (Trichophorum planifolium)

Heart-leaved Plantain (Plantago cordata)

Hoary Mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum incanum)

Horsetail Spike-rush (Eleocharis equisetoides)

Juniper Sedge (Carex juniperorum)

Large Whorled Pogonia (Isotria verticillata)

Nodding Pogonia (Triphora trianthophora)

Pink Milkwort (Polygala incarnata)

Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)

Skinner's Agalinis (Agalinis skinneriana)

Slender Bush-clover³ (Lespedeza virginica)

Small White Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium candidum)

Small Whorled Pogonia (Isotria medeoloides)

Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata)

Virginia Goat's-rue (Tephrosia virginiana)

Western Silvery Aster (Symphyotrichum sericeum)

Wood-poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)

Insects

Frosted Elfin (Callophrys irus)

Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)

Amphibians

Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)

Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)

Reptiles

Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii)

Lake Erie Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon insularum)

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Birds

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Bald Eagle⁴ (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis)

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)

King Rail (Rallus elegans)

Kirtland's Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii)

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Mammals

Mountain Lion or Cougar (Puma concolor)

Notes to Schedule 1:

¹ The classification of Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus applies to Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve on Pelee Island in the Township of Pelee.

² The classification of Few-flowered Club-rush or Bashful Bulrush applies to Lot 32, ranges 2 and 3, in the City of Pickering (formerly the geographic Township of Pickering), and to the Royal Botanical Gardens in the City of Hamilton.

³ The classification of Slender Bush-clover applies to Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Ojibway Park and Black Oak Heritage Park in the City of Windsor.

⁴ The classification of Bald Eagle applies to the part of Ontario south of the French and Mattawa Rivers.

Schedule 2
Transition - SPECIES to be listed as extirpated species

(Clause 7 (7) (b))

Mosses

Incurved Grizzled Moss (Ptychomitrium incurvum)

Vascular Plants

Illinois Tick-trefoil (Desmodium illinoense)

Spring Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia verna)

Insects

Eastern Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius persius)

Fishes

Atlantic Salmon (Great Lakes population) (Salmo salar)

Gravel Chub (Erimystax x-punctatus)

Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)

Amphibians

Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)

Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Birds

Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido)

Schedule 3
Transition - SPECIES to be listed as endangered species

(Clause 7 (7) (c))

Vascular Plants

American Chestnut (Castanea dentata)

American Columbo (Frasera caroliniensis)

American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

Bluehearts (Buchnera americana)

Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Cherry Birch (Betula lenta)

Eastern Prairie Fringed-orchid (Platanthera leucophaea)

Engelmann's Quillwort (Isoetes engelmannii)

Forked Three-awned Grass (Aristida basiramea)

Gattinger's Agalinis (Agalinis gattingeri)

Pitcher's Thistle (Cirsium pitcheri)

Purple Twayblade (Liparis liliifolia)

Scarlet Ammannia (Ammannia robusta)

Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

Toothcup (Rotala ramosior)

White Prairie Gentian (Gentiana alba)

Molluscs

Kidneyshell (Ptychobranchus fasciolaris)

Mudpuppy Mussel (Simpsonaias ambigua)

Northern Riffleshell (Epioblasma torulosa rangiana)

Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis)

Round Hickorynut (Obovaria subrotunda)

Round Pigtoe (Pleurobema sintoxia)

Snuffbox (Epioblasma triquetra)

Wavy-rayed Lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola)

Insects

Aweme Borer Moth (Papaipema aweme)

Fishes

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

Aurora Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis timagamiensis)

Northern Madtom (Noturus stigmosus)

Pugnose Shiner (Notropis anogenus)

Shortnose Cisco (Coregonus reighardi)

Amphibians

Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus)

Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)

Reptiles

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

Birds

Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Mammals

American Badger (Taxidea taxus)

Schedule 4
Transition - SPECIES to be listed as threatened species

(Clause 7 (7) (d))

Lichens

Flooded Jellyskin (Leptogium rivulare)

Vascular Plants

American Water-willow (Justicia americana)

Branched Bartonia (Bartonia paniculata)

Colicroot (Aletris farinosa)

Common Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata)

Crooked-stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides)

Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum)

Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)

Dwarf Hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia)

Dwarf Lake Iris (Iris lacustris)

False Rue-anemone (Enemion biternatum)

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)

Hill's Thistle (Cirsium hillii)

Houghton's Goldenrod (Solidago houghtonii)

Kentucky Coffee-tree (Gymnocladus dioicus)

Lakeside Daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea)

Round-leaved Greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia)

Small-flowered Lipocarpha (Lipocarpha micrantha)

White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata)

Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)

Willowleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum praealtum)

Molluscs

Mapleleaf Mussel (Quadrula quadrula)

Rainbow Mussel (Villosa iris)

Fishes

Black Redhorse (Moxostoma duquesnei)

Channel Darter (Percina copelandi)

Cutlip Minnow (Exoglossum maxillingua)

Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida)

Lake Chubsucker (Erimyzon sucetta)

Redside Dace (Clinostomus elongatus)

Shortjaw Cisco (Coregonus zenithicus)

Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

Amphibians

Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)

Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum)

Reptiles

Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

Butler's Gartersnake (Thamnophis butleri)

Eastern Foxsnake (Elaphe gloydi)

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)

Eastern Ratsnake (Elaphe obsoleta)

Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus)

Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata)

Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera)

Stinkpot (Sternotherus odoratus)

Birds

Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina)

Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Mammals

Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Wolverine (Gulo gulo)

Woodland Caribou (Forest-dwelling boreal population) (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Schedule 5
Transition - SPECIES to be listed as special concern species

(Clause 7 (7) (e))

Mosses

Pygmy Pocket Moss (Fissidens exilis)

Vascular Plants

American Hart's-tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium americanum)

Blue Ash (Fraxinus quadrangulata)

Broad Beech Fern (Phegopteris hexagonoptera)

Climbing Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera)

Green Dragon (Arisaema dracontium)

Hill's Pondweed (Potamogeton hillii)

Riddell's Goldenrod (Solidago riddellii)

Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii)

Swamp Rose-mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)

Tuberous Indian-plantain (Arnoglossum plantagineum)

Insects

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

West Virginia White (Pieris virginiensis)

Fishes

Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus)

Black Buffalo (Ictiobus niger)

Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus)

Bridle Shiner (Notropis bifrenatus)

Grass Pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus)

Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Northern Brook Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon fossor)

Orangespotted Sunfish (Lepomis humilis)

Pugnose Minnow (Opsopoeodus emiliae)

River Redhorse (Moxostoma carinatum)

Silver Chub (Macrhybopsis storeriana)

Silver Shiner (Notropis photogenis)

Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops)

Upper Great Lakes Kiyi (Coregonus kiyi kiyi)

Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus)

Reptiles

Eastern Ribbonsnake (Thamnophis sauritus)

Five-lined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus)

Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)

Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)

Birds

Bald Eagle¹ (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Black Tern (Chlidonias niger)

Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea)

Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)

Louisiana Waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Yellow Rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis)

Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)

Mammals

Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas)

Eastern Mole (Scalopus aquaticus)

Eastern Wolf (Canis lupus lycaon)

Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

Woodland Vole (Microtus pinetorum)

Note to Schedule 5:

¹ The classification of Bald Eagle applies to the part of Ontario north of the French and Mattawa Rivers.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader's aid to Bill 184 and does not form part of the law. Bill 184 has been enacted as Chapter 6 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2007.

The Bill deals with the protection and recovery of species at risk in Ontario. It replaces the existing Endangered Species Act.

Introduction

The purposes of the Bill are:

1. To identify species at risk based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge.

2. To protect species that are at risk and their habitats, and to promote the recovery of species that are at risk.

3. To promote stewardship activities to assist in the protection and recovery of species that are at risk.

Classification of Species

The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) is continued. Its members must be persons who have relevant expertise drawn from a scientific discipline or aboriginal traditional knowledge. COSSARO is required to assess and classify species and to report the classifications to the responsible Minister. The Bill sets out rules for classifying species as extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species. Classifications must be based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge. See sections 3 to 6.

A designated Ministry official is required to make and file a regulation (referred to in the Bill as the Species at Risk in Ontario List) that lists all the species that are classified by COSSARO as extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern species. When new information is reported to the Minister by COSSARO, the Ministry official must amend the regulation to accurately reflect the new information. As a transitional matter, the first regulation made by the Ministry official must include certain species that were classified before the new Species at Risk in Ontario List comes into existence. See section 7 and Schedules 1 to 5.

Protection and Recovery of Species

If a species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated, endangered or threatened species, the Bill prohibits killing, harming, harassing, capturing, taking, possessing, transporting, collecting, buying, selling, leasing, trading or offering to buy, sell, lease or trade a member of the species, or selling, leasing, trading or offering to sell, lease or trade anything that is represented to be a member of the species. Some of these prohibitions also apply to parts of a member of the species, and to things derived from a member of the species. See section 9.

If a species is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species, the Bill prohibits damaging or destroying the habitat of the species. This prohibition also applies to an extirpated species if the species is prescribed by the regulations. The regulations may specifically prescribe an area as the habitat of a species but, if no habitat regulation is in force with respect to a species, "habitat" is defined to mean an area on which the species depends, directly or indirectly, to carry on its life processes. With respect to certain species that were classified before first reading of the Bill, the prohibition on damaging or destroying habitat does not apply until the earlier of the date a regulation prescribing the habitat of the species comes into force and the fifth anniversary of the date the requirement to establish the Species at Risk in Ontario List comes into existence. See section 10 and the definition of "habitat" in section 2.

The Minister is required to ensure that a recovery strategy is prepared for each species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species. Time limits are specified, subject to the Minister's ability to give notice that additional time is required. The Minister is also required to ensure that a recovery strategy is prepared for a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an extirpated species, if the Minister is of the opinion that the reintroduction of the species into Ontario is feasible. If a recovery strategy is prepared, the Minister must publish a statement that summarizes the actions that the Government of Ontario intends to take in response to the recovery strategy and the Government's priorities with respect to taking those actions. The Minister is required to ensure the implementation of actions referred to in the statement that, in the opinion of the Minister, are feasible and are within the responsibilities of the Minister, and to ensure that a review of progress is conducted within five years. The Minister is also required to ensure that a management plan is prepared for each species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as a special concern species, unless a recovery strategy or management plan is required to be prepared for the species under the Species at Risk Act (Canada). If a management plan is prepared, the Minister must publish a statement that summarizes the actions that the Government of Ontario intends to take in response to the management plan and the Government's priorities with respect to taking those actions. The Minister is required to ensure the implementation of actions referred to in the statement that, in the opinion of the Minister, are feasible and are within the responsibilities of the Minister. See sections 11 to 15.

Agreements, Permits and other Instruments

The Minister may enter into agreements for the purpose of assisting in the protection or recovery of species that are listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List. Such an agreement may authorize a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited. See section 16.

The Minister may also issue a permit that authorizes a person to engage in an activity that would otherwise be prohibited. These permits may only be issued in specified circumstances. See section 17.

If specified conditions are met, instruments issued under other Acts that authorize a person to engage in an activity have the same effect as a permit issued by the Minister under the Bill. See section 18.

Special provisions govern agreements and permits relating to aboriginal people. See section 19.

Permits issued by the Minister under the Bill may be amended or revoked in specified circumstances. If the Minister intends to amend or revoke a permit without the consent of the holder of the permit, notice must be given and the holder of the permit may require that a hearing be held before the Minister makes a decision. See section 20.

Enforcement

The Bill contains a number of provisions relating to enforcement. These include provisions designating enforcement officers and, in specified circumstances, authorizing them to conduct inspections and searches. Orders may be made in specified circumstances. A person against whom an order is made may require that a hearing be held and, after a hearing is held, the Minister may confirm, amend or revoke the order. See sections 21 to 35.

Offences and Penalties

A contravention of specified provisions of the Bill, or of provisions of agreements, permits or orders under the Bill, is an offence. A person cannot be convicted of an offence if the person establishes that the person exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence, or that the person honestly and reasonably believed in the existence of facts that, if true, would render the person's conduct innocent. The powers of the court that convicts a person are set out. Other provisions govern procedural and evidentiary matters related to prosecutions. See sections 36 to 45.

Miscellaneous

Other provisions in the Bill include the following:

The Bill makes clear that it does not abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada as recognized and affirmed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. See section 46.

The Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program is established. Its purpose is to promote stewardship activities that relate to species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List. The Minister may make grants for that purpose. See section 47.

Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Minister may establish a committee to make recommendations to the Minister on a variety of matters set out in the Bill. See section 48.

A provision is included in the Bill to recognize and promote compliance with the laws of other jurisdictions that protect species at risk. See section 49.

The Minister is required to ensure that certain information relating to the Bill is made available to the public, although nothing in the Bill requires the Minister to disclose information if doing so could reasonably be expected to lead to a contravention of the provisions of the Bill that protect species and their habitats. See sections 51 and 52.

The Bill is binding on the Crown. This does not prevent any activity engaged in by the Ministry to assist in the protection or recovery of species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List. See section 54.

The Lieutenant Governor in Council's regulation-making authority is set out. This includes the power to prescribe exemptions from the provisions of the Bill that protect species and their habitats. A regulation may also provide that no recovery strategy need be prepared for a species, but only if the provisions of the Bill that protect species and their habitats have no application to that species. As mentioned above, species-specific regulations may also be made prescribing an area as the habitat of a species. For species that are listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as endangered or threatened species (other than certain species that were classified before first reading of the Bill), time limits are specified for giving notice of proposals to make these habitat regulations, subject to the Minister's ability to give notice that additional time is required to make a habitat regulation or to give notice that a habitat regulation is not required. All of the Lieutenant Governor in Council's regulation-making authority is subject to special provisions that apply if the Minister is of the opinion that a proposal for a regulation is likely to have a significant adverse effect on a species that is listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List. These special provisions also apply to a proposal for a regulation prescribing an area as the habitat of a species, if the Minister is of the opinion that the regulation is likely to result in a significant reduction in the number of members of the species that live in the wild in Ontario. See sections 55 to 57.

A transitional provision is included to allow the Minister, before the existing Endangered Species Act is repealed, to issue permits in specified circumstances that, with respect to Blue Racers and Lake Erie Water Snakes, authorize a person to engage in an activity on Pelee Island that would otherwise be prohibited by that Act. See section 58.

Amendments and Repeals

The Bill repeals the existing Endangered Species Act and makes consequential amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003. See sections 59 to 62.

Commencement and Short Title

With certain minor exceptions, the Bill comes into force on June 30, 2008 or such earlier day as may be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. The short title of the Bill is the Endangered Species Act, 2007. See sections 63 and 64.

[38] Bill 184 As Amended by Standing Committee (PDF)

Bill 184 2007

An Act to protect species at risk and to make related changes to other Acts

CONTENTS
Preamble
Introduction
1. 2.	Purposes Definitions
Classification of Species
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.	Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario Functions of COSSARO Rules for classification Reports by COSSARO Species at Risk in Ontario List Ministerial requirements
Protection and Recovery of Species
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.	Prohibition on killing, etc. Prohibition on damage to habitat, etc. Recovery strategies Management plans for special concern species Ecosystem approach Recovery strategies and management plans for more than one species Incorporation of existing plan
Agreements, Permits and Other Instruments
16. 17. 18. 19. 20.	Stewardship agreements Permits Instruments under other Acts Aboriginal persons Amendment or revocation of permits without consent
Enforcement
21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.	Enforcement officers Production of identification Inspection to determine compliance Inspection of vehicles, boats, aircraft Searches with respect to offences Seizure and forfeiture Stop order Habitat protection order Service of order Hearing Arrest without warrant Necessary force Incidental authority to pass through Exemptions from Act, enforcement officers Obstruction of enforcement officer
Offences and Penalties
36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 43.1 44.		Offences Corporations Employers and principals Defence Penalties Order for compliance Presiding judge Limitation period Similar species Proof of inspected or seized things
Miscellaneous
45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 56.1		Existing aboriginal or treaty rights Species at Risk in Ontario Stewardship Program Advisory committee Laws of other jurisdictions Fees Information for public Information that could lead to contravention Personal information Application to Crown Regulations Habitat regulations ~~Significant adverse effect of regulation~~ Special requirements for certain regulations Transition
Amendments and Repeals
57. 58. 59. 60.		Endangered Species Act Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Kawartha Highlands Signature Site Park Act, 2003
Commencement and Short Title
61. 62.		Commencement Short title
Schedule 1		Transition - Species Declared to be Threatened with Extinction in Regulation 328 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990
Schedule 2		Transition - Species to be Listed as Extirpated Species
Schedule 3		Transition - Species to be Listed as Endangered Species
Schedule 4		Transition - Species to be Listed as Threatened Species
Schedule 5		Transition - Species to be Listed as Special Concern Species
______________

Preamble

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Introduction

Purposes

1. The purposes of this Act are:

1. To identify species at risk based on the best available scientific information, including information obtained from community knowledge and aboriginal traditional knowledge.

2. To protect species that are at risk and their habitats, and to promote the recovery of species that are at risk.

3. To promote stewardship activities to assist in the protection and recovery of species that are at risk.

Definitions

2. (1) In this Act,

"aboriginal person" means a member of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, as defined in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982; ("personne autochtone")

"COSSARO" means the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario; ("CDSEPO")

"enforcement officer" means an enforcement officer under section 21; ("agent d'exécution")

~~"habitat" means,~~

(a) with respect to a species of animal, plant or other organism for which a regulation made under clause 54 (1) (a) is in force, the area prescribed by that regulation as the habitat of the species, including places in that area that are used by members of the species as dens, nests, hibernacula or other residences, or

(b) with respect to any other species of animal, plant or other organism, an area on which the species depends, directly or indirectly, to carry on its life processes, including areas used for reproduction, rearing, hibernation, migration or feeding, and including places that are used by members of the species as dens, nests, hibernacula or other residences, but not including an area on which the species does not depend where the species formerly occurred or has the potential to be reintroduced; ("habitat")