Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development’s Report Points to ‘Wide Gap’ Between Commitments and Results

The 2013 Fall Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development that was tabled in the House of Commons, November 5, 2013, points to "a wide gap between the government’s commitments and the results achieved" in protecting nature and promoting sustainable development. In particular, the report finds that:

legislative requirements under the Species at Risk Act have not been met;
ecological integrity is "less than adequate" in over half of the ecosystems Parks Canada assessed in 2011;
Environment Canada has completed less than half of the Bird Conservation Region Strategies it committed to finishing by 2010; and
monitoring for 30 percent of the bird species in Canada is insufficient to determine whether they are at risk.

The report warns that "without concerted and committed efforts, more key species and critical spaces will be lost".