B.C. needs an endangered species law
B.C. has more endangered species (1,900) than any other province or territory in Canada, but it doesn’t have a stand-alone law to protect biodiversity.
What you can do
Write to Premier David Eby and Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship Minister Randene Neill, along with Environment and Parks Minister Tamara Davidson, demanding a new provincial law to protect species at risk. Edit your letter before sending it!
Why this matters
Without a law, pipelines, old-growth logging, superports and other industrial projects that actively harm species are allowed to go ahead. The province started the process, but the draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework has been stalled for more than two years.
Points to consider in your letter:
(Use these to add or edit to your letter)
- Prioritizing biodiversity across sectors means protecting species, and a strong law to protect species at risk across B.C. is the way to do this.
- A new law is needed to manage how biodiversity and ecosystems are cared for while holding industry to a higher standard.
- A species law must be co-developed with First Nations and done right — in the meantime, immediate interim measures to temporarily protect at-risk habitats are required to prevent irreversible loss while a new law is developed.
- B.C. currently lacks the legal framework to protect species at risk and ecosystems. Simply updating existing laws will not be enough to capture the cumulative effects that are driving the decline of extinction and ecosystem deterioration.
- Only a loophole-free, enforceable law that makes it illegal to harm species will reign in destructive projects and turn the tide on biodiversity loss in B.C.
- There is wide support for a species law in B.C., with thousands of residents and organizations like the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs have already called on the B.C. government to pass one.
Points to consider in your letter:
(Use these to add or edit to your letter)
- Prioritizing biodiversity across sectors means protecting species, and a strong law to protect species at risk across B.C. is the way to do this.
- A new law is needed to manage how biodiversity and ecosystems are cared for while holding industry to a higher standard.
- A species law must be co-developed with First Nations and done right — in the meantime, immediate interim measures to temporarily protect at-risk habitats are required to prevent irreversible loss while a new law is developed.
- B.C. currently lacks the legal framework to protect species at risk and ecosystems. Simply updating existing laws will not be enough to capture the cumulative effects that are driving the decline of extinction and ecosystem deterioration.
- Only a loophole-free, enforceable law that makes it illegal to harm species will reign in destructive projects and turn the tide on biodiversity loss in B.C.
- There is wide support for a species law in B.C., with thousands of residents and organizations like the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs have already called on the B.C. government to pass one.