Species at risk 'simply not protected' on P.E.I., says new report

A new report from the East Coast Environmental Law is called Simply Not Protected, which is also how the group describes species at risk and their habitat on Prince Edward Island.

Two P.E.I. organizations, Nature P.E.I. and Island Nature Trust, said the report is right on target and are challenging the environment minister to respond immediately to the report's recommendations. 

P.E.I. is the only province in Atlantic Canada without a standalone law to protect species at risk.

Instead, on P.E.I. that protection is supposed to come from the Wildlife Conservation Act, which has been in place since 1998.

"Not only has the minister not taken the steps that need to be taken to protect species in the province, the minister hasn't even taken the most basic step of actually identifying the species that are at risk," said Lisa Mitchell, executive director of the East Coast Environmental Law.

"You've got a law that's been on the books for 23 years, and not one species has been designated for protection on P.E.I."

Mitchell said the federal government has legally listed 25 species in P.E.I. as endangered, threatened, or of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act, including seven endangered species, eight threatened species, and 10 species of special concern.

"There's a certain role that the federal government can play when it comes to federal lands, like national parks, and specific species that they have jurisdiction over, like migratory birds, for example," Mitchell said. 

"But all the other work that needs to be done to protect species and their habitat in the province has to be done by the provincial government, anything that's going to be done on provincial lands, or privately owned lands in the province."

The report included recommendations for immediate action, including re-establishing an advisory committee under the Wildlife Conservation Act to identify species at risk, and recommend ways to protect them and their habitat.

But Mitchell said the larger goal would be for Prince Edward Island to create a more modern piece of legislation. 

"At this point, we would recommend that Prince Edward Island have a standalone statute," Mitchell said.

"That there be some focused attention on creating a modern law that will be more transparent, that will actually look at the biodiversity crisis in a broader way." 

Shannon Mader, species at risk program manager at Island Nature Trust, said the report has some good recommendations.