16°c Clear
25°c Variable cloudiness
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Canada's polar policies to forefront
Group says Canada isn't following laws. (JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES)
CANADA is being forced to explain its polar bear policies to an international environmental watchdog.
The Commission on Environmental Co-operation, which is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, has accepted a petition from a U.S.-based group that says Canada isn't following its own laws on protecting the bears.
In accepting the petition, the commission has found that the Center for Biological Diversity has registered a legitimate concern under the terms of the treaty.
"The commission found that we had a sufficient allegation and provided sufficient documentation of the violation that we can move forward in this process," Sarah Uhlemann, a lawyer with the center, said Friday.
The petition, filed in November 2011, alleges Canadian officials ignored the most recent science on climate change and the loss of Arctic sea ice when they ruled last year against changing the status of the bear from "special concern" to "threatened," which would rule out hunting.
It also says that the Tory government had already broken its own laws by being more than three years late in filing a mandatory management plan for the Arctic predators. The petition concludes by suggesting hunting quotas for the bears set by Inuit co-management boards are unsustainable for some populations.
Uhlemann said Canada's most recent scientific assessment of bear populations minimized the impact of ice loss. The bears use sea ice as a hunting platform for seals, their primary food.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 1, 2012 A22
More Canada
- Back to Top
- Return to Canada
More Canada
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
More controversy in Montreal: three police officers suspended amid RCMP probe
06/17/2013 8:56 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Canada
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- Western premiers discuss bullies; say topic will be part of all-premiers meeting
- Training manuals for Parliament guides boost Senate, praise two-party system
- Payback time for Trudeau
- More controversy in Montreal: three police officers suspended amid RCMP probe
- Saulie Zajdel, once the Tories' best hope to finally win Montreal seat, arrested
- Feds want to extend blanket of permanent secrecy over 11 new agencies
- Trudeau to compensate charities that paid him to help raise money
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Woman charged after drink tossed at embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- Marois defends turban ban
- Canadian woman, daughter caught smuggling $59,000 in bras, border agents say
- Woman charged after drink tossed at embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
- Questions about Mayor Rob Ford overshadow news of huge police raids
- Trudeau to compensate charities that paid him to help raise money
- Conservative MP under election expense cloud to help pick Supreme Court justice
- RCMP confirms it's investigating Nigel Wright payment to Mike Duffy
- Woman run over three times by her own car
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Controversy around Toronto mayor Rob Ford continues to grow
- Glover, Bezan fight suspension from Parliament
- Alleged Rob Ford drug video 'gone,' source tells Gawker
- Gawker hits $200K for 'crack cocaine' video as mayor's senior aides resign
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- 'I am not stepping aside,' Mayor Rob Ford says, as 'crack video' scandal rages
- Mother cries, yells as driver appears in court charged with killing boy on patio
- Western premiers discuss bullies; say topic will be part of all-premiers meeting
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- Training manuals for Parliament guides boost Senate, praise two-party system
- Canada joining global alliance against online child sexual abuse: Nicholson
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- B.C. is 'in the risk zone' for mega-earthquake along the coast: study
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Feds want to extend blanket of permanent secrecy over 11 new agencies
- Canadian and American missing for nearly two weeks in Mexico
- Squirrel takes whirl in toilet; woman rescues rodent with barbecue tongs
- Wendy's 9-patty burger extinct
- Training manuals for Parliament guides boost Senate, praise two-party system
- Western premiers discuss bullies; say topic will be part of all-premiers meeting
- Montreal's interim mayor, a self-styled corruption fighter, faces fraud charges
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Glover, Bezan fight suspension from Parliament
- Woman run over three times by her own car
- Ottawa threatens 'retaliatory measures' over new U.S. meat labelling regulations
- Canadian and American missing for nearly two weeks in Mexico
- Banff officials hunt for cougar that man fought off with skateboard
- Harper government brings in new performance review system for public service
- Up to one of every three members of new tribunal gave money to Conservatives
- Valcourt says consensus with First Nations outweighs confrontation
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.