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### Viewing cable 03OTTAWA2376, GOC FEDERAL ROLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST ALIEN INVASIVE

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
03OTTAWA2376 | 2003-08-21 12:12 | 2011-04-28 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED | Embassy Ottawa

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

    211246Z Aug 03

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 OTTAWA 002376

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR OES/ENV (ROSE), OES/ETC (ROTH), OES/OA, WHA/CAN
    (NELSON, WHEELER)

    EPA FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (CHRISTICH)

    INTERIOR FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE (GLOMAN)

    INTERIOR FOR NATIONAL INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL STAFF (WILLIAMS)

    INTERIOR (A. GORDON BROWN)

    COMMERCE (DEAN WILKINSON)

    STATE PLEASE PASS ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

    AGRICULTURE (REBECCA BECH)

    WHITE HOUSE FOR COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: SENV TBIO ETRD CA
    SUBJECT:  GOC FEDERAL ROLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST ALIEN INVASIVE
    SPECIES

    REF:  OTTAWA 2225

    -------
    SUMMARY
    -------

    ¶1.  An effective Canadian plan to deal with Alien Invasive Species
    (AIS) will require close coordination between provincial and
    federal governments, as well as renewed accountability and
    collaboration between federal government departments.  This cable
    outlines the federal-provincial jurisdiction and federal
    departmental mandates and roles.  At the federal level, a variety
    of legislative instruments are already in place that can be
    employed to address AIS; and federal government departments have,
    in their annual business plans, publicly stated their commitment
    to dealing with AIS problems.  We expect these existing federal
    tools will be used more actively in the near term as GOC
    departments seek to demonstrate to the incoming Prime Minister
    that they are serious about AIS, and as a consequence gain
    support for the nascent National Invasive Species Management and
    Policy Framework (reftel).  END SUMMARY.

    ----------
    Background
    ----------

    ¶2.  In an October 2002 Report, the Canadian Commissioner of the
    Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) devoted an entire
    chapter to the pressing issue of alien invasive species (AIS).
    The report noted that AIS are the 2nd leading cause of
    biodiversity loss in Canada (after habitat destruction) and
    inflict billions of dollars of damage to the economy every year.
    In 1992, Canada signed the United Nations Convention on
    Biological Diversity, which included a pledge to prevent and/or
    control AIS.  According to the Commissioner's report, however,
    there has been no effective GOC action on AIS. Indeed, the report
    found that, despite increasing numbers of invasive species
    entering Canada and their growing destructive influence, federal
    government efforts to deal with this issue remain in disarray,
    with "no clear understanding... who will do what to respond."

    ---------------------------------------
    Federal-Provincial Jurisdictional Split
    ---------------------------------------

    ¶3.  Invasive species involve an expansive category of environmental
    responsibilities apportioned between the various levels of
    government in Canada.  The federal and provincial governments
    share jurisdiction for the protection of the environment
    according to the distribution of their legislative powers as
    described in the Canadian Constitution.  For example, federal
    agencies such as Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries
    and Oceans (DFO) have authority on environmental issues relating
    to: inter-provincial and international transportation and
    communication; navigation and shipping; and sea coast and inland
    fisheries.  On the other hand, management of public lands and
    wildlife, considered "natural resources," come under provincial
    jurisdiction and responsibilities.  On some issues, such as
    agriculture, the Canadian Constitution gives concurrent
    jurisdiction to Ottawa and the provinces.

    ¶4.  Clearly, for a coordinated nationwide approach to AIS, both the
    federal and provincial levels of government must be involved.
    However, the federal agencies usually have a role to play
    whenever provincial borders are crossed; thus the federal
    agencies are best positioned to take the lead in coordinating an
    overarching national plan.  The focus of this cable is,
    therefore, on describing the mandates and activities of key
    federal departments with a stake in the AIS issue.  We intend to
    provide a description of provincial activities and
    responsibilities in future reporting on this issue.

    ------------------
    Environment Canada
    ------------------

    ¶5.  Environment Canada (EC) (www.ec.gc.ca) is the coordinating federa
    department in the development of a national invasive species
    strategy.  The Department of the Environment Act establishes EC's
    authority over "all matters relating to the preservation and
    enhancement of the quality of the natural environment," making it
    the natural choice to play a central role in any AIS effort.
    The mandate includes "the enforcement of rules and regulations
    arising from the advice of the International Joint Commission
    relating to boundary waters" and entitles EC to deal with
    questions arising between the US and Canada related to
    environmental quality.

    ¶6. Within EC, the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) handles the
    federal government's responsibilities on wildlife issues,
    including protecting nationally important wildlife habitat
    and conducting scientific research.  Of key significance,
    the CWS, with the assistance of other federal departments
    and provincial and territorial wildlife agencies,
    administers the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and
    Regulation of Inter-provincial and International Trade Act
    (WAPPRIITA).  WAPPRIITA regulates the movement of wild
    species to and from Canada and within its provinces and
    territories in order to "protect Canadian ecosystems from
    the introduction of harmful wild species."  According to
    Robert McLean, Acting Director General, Conservation
    Strategies Directorate of EC, WAPPRIITA was designed
    expressly for the purpose of allowing the government to
    identify and place on a "prohibited" import list any species
    that could be invasive if it were to establish itself in
    Canada.  Indeed, the House of Commons Standing Committee on
    Fisheries and Oceans (SCOFO) has recommended that grass,
    bighead, silver and black carp and any other aquatic alien
    species deemed harmful to Canadian wildlife or ecosystems be
    immediately listed in Schedule II (the prohibited list) of
    the WAPPRITTA regulations in order to prohibit their
    importation into Canada in a live state.

    ¶7. Environment Canada also administers the Canadian Environmental
    Protection Act (CEPA) that provides a safety net for
    government action on AIS.  The Act provides the federal
    cabinet the authority, subject to advice from the Federal-
    Provincial Environment Ministers' Council, to regulate
    "toxic substances".  Under the Act a "substance" is "any
    distinguishable kind of organic or inorganic matter, whether
    animate or inanimate;" and "a substance is toxic if it is
    entering or may enter the environment.under
    conditions.having, or that may have an immediate or long-
    term harmful effect on the environment.constituting.a danger
    to the environment on which human life depends.or.to human
    life or health."

    ----------------
    Transport Canada
    ----------------

    ¶8.  Transport Canada (TC) (www.tc.gc.ca) works to maintain a Canadian
    transportation system that, among other things, is
    environmentally friendly.  TC's Environmental Protection and
    Sustainable Development efforts focus on ensuring the
    department's compliance with applicable environmental laws and
    regulations.  They are also directed to the need for TC to assess
    and address the impact its operations have on the environment.
    TC's environmental impact would include the risk of importing AIS
    along human and cargo transportation pathways.  Currently TC's
    main effort related to AIS concerns the arrival of AIS in ships'
    ballast water (BW).  BW is internationally recognized as one of
    the most pernicious pathways for aquatic AIS and is presumed
    responsible for the presence of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes,
    one of the most well known cases of an invasive species in
    Canada.  TC has "the authority to regulate the control and
    management of ballast water" in Canadian waters under the latest
    series of amendments made in 1998 to the Canadian Shipping Act.

    ¶9. According to the 2002 assessment by the CESD, however, TC, despite
    having a clear statutory mandate, "does not regulate ballast
    water discharges; nor does it monitor or report on compliance
    with existing guidelines."  The CESD also noted that "Canada
    relies exclusively on US inspection and enforcement" of BW
    practices in the Great Lakes and that "there is no official
    arrangement between Transport Canada and the US authorities to co-
    operate on inspection or enforcement or to exchange information."
    Furthermore, the report points out that TC does not intend to
    apply planned mandatory BW regulations from its sustainable
    development strategy to Canada's coasts, leaving some areas open
    to new AIS.  TC has responded to the CESD criticisms by stating
    that it relies on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)
    "to identify criteria that could form the basis of an effective
    ballast water regulation" and that these criteria have not yet
    been forthcoming.

    ----------------------------------
    Department of Fisheries and Oceans
    ----------------------------------

    ¶10.  The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) (www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
    is charged with the support of economic, ecological, and
    scientific interests in Canadian oceans and inland waters.  DFO's
    Fish Habitat Management Program "plays a pivotal role in the
    conservation and protection of fish habitat in Canada" supported
    by its enforcement of the related provisions in the Fisheries
    Act.  The Fisheries Act, Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, and
    Fish Inspection Act could enable DFO to prohibit and monitor the
    possession or release into the wild of potentially harmful
    aquatic AIS.  The House of Commons SCOFO determined in its May
    2003 report on aquatic AIS that DFO "has the jurisdiction and the
    legislative authority under section 43 of the Fisheries Act to
    ban the sale of... potentially invasive species of fish."
    COMMENT:  This recommendation may seem redundant in the face of
    WAPPRIITA's Schedule II list of potentially harmful species
    illegal to import.  It appears, however, that DFO, under the
    Fisheries Act, can prohibit the sale of these fish species
    anywhere in the country, regardless of their movement into, out
    of, or within Canada.  END COMMENT.

    ¶11.  In its response to the CESD Report of April 2002, DFO committed
    to "take the lead role with respect to the portion of the
    national action plan that deals with aquatic invasive species."
    It expects to have defined science priorities for researching and
    addressing the threat of aquatic AIS by fall 2003.  It remains to
    be seen how ballast water management fits in to these DFO
    priorities.  It told the CESD: "it is not responsible for
    developing science-based criteria that could form the basis of a
    ballast water regulation.  This, of course, contradicts TC's
    position (para. 9) and illustrates the challenges of overlapping
    jurisdictions and responsibilities.

    --------------------------------------------- ---------------------
    Canadian Food Inspection Agency & Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
    --------------------------------------------- ---------------------
    ¶12.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
    (www.inspection.gc.ca), which reports to the Minister of
    Agriculture and Agri-Food, conducts all Canadian federal food,
    animal, and plant health inspection programs.  It committed to
    addressing the threat of invasive species in its 2000 plan for a
    national import strategy and testifies to continued collaboration
    with other federal agencies on AIS in its 2003-2008 Corporate
    Business Plan.  Since its inception in 1997, the CFIA has been
    the agency of implementation for some of Agriculture and Agri-
    Food Canada's policies and laws, including the Plant Protection
    Act and the Seeds Act (see paras 13 and 14).

    ¶13.  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) (www.agr.gc.ca), as well
    as the provincial agricultural ministries, have been conducting
    operations against AIS in one form or another for decades.
    Maintaining environmental health in conjunction with agricultural
    activity is part of AAFC's mandate.  Its Agricultural Policy
    Framework, developed in cooperation with provincial ministries of
    agriculture, recognizes the need to preserve Canadian
    biodiversity.  A Canadian Wildlife Service report (1993) on
    invasive plant species described the federal Seeds Act
    (administered then by AAFC but now by the CFIA) to have "minimal
    utility" for AIS control efforts, instead acting as a weak method
    of prevention.  (The report saw promise, however, in retooling
    the Provincial Weed Acts to improve efforts to prevent, control,
    or eradicate invasive species in Canada, via modifications to
    these Acts to update and expand the list of target species,
    enlarge the area of the laws' application, and increase
    administrative resources for monitoring and enforcement.)

    ¶14.  According to the Summary of Environmental Law in North America
    prepared for the North American Commission for Environmental
    Cooperation (www.cec.org), the Plant Protection Act (PPA),
    administered by the CFIA, is the most comprehensive piece of
    Canadian federal legislation that is relevant to controlling and
    combating AIS.  The PPA is designed to protect the agricultural
    and forestry sectors of the Canadian economy from pests.  Through
    this Act, the CFIA can potentially prevent the importation and
    spread of AIS and control or eradicate established pest
    infestations.  It gives CFIA the authority to conduct
    inspections, searches, and seizures of materials suspected of
    harboring AIS.  Except as permitted under the PPA's regulations,
    "no person shall move, grow, raise, culture, or produce any thing
    that there are reasonable grounds to believe is a pest, that is
    or could be infected with a pest or that constitutes or could
    constitute a biological obstacle to the control of a pest."
    COMMENT:  The AAFC, CFIA, and PPA are concerned primarily with
    the safeguarding of Canadian agricultural interests against pests
    of all types.  Nevertheless, many AIS are included among these
    harmful pests and the language of the PPA allows for
    comprehensive measures to be put into place to protect against
    importing new AIS and to control the spread of established AIS.
    The umbrella the PPA sets up to protect certain economic
    interests can shelter other interests, both economical and
    environmental, against the harmful influence of AIS. End comment.

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    Canadian Forest Service
    -----------------------

    ¶15.  Canada is home to 10% of Earth's forests, which shelter about 2/
    of plant and animal species in Canada.  The Canadian Forest
    Service (CFS) (www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/cfs-scf), part of Natural
    Resources Canada, has federal responsibility for the state of
    Canada's forests and it recognizes the increasing threat of AIS.
    The Forestry Act is the legal basis for CFS, through the mandate
    of the Minister of Natural Resources, to conduct "research
    relating to the protection, management and utilization of the
    forest resources of Canada" and to "establish and maintain
    laboratories and other necessary facilities for those purposes."
    One goal of the CFS's action plan "Biodiversity in the Forests"
    is "to further the understanding of the impacts of forest
    management... such as the introduction of exotic tree species"
    and it identifies exotic pest species as a "key biodiversity
    issue."  NOTE:  The CFS and Natural Resources Canada are absent
    from most of the major documents detailing the GOC efforts on
    AIS.  While the Canadian Council of Forestry Ministers is playing
    a role in the development of the national plan, the CFS does not
    appear to have a central role in a national AIS strategy.  Its
    mandate in this matter appears to focus on research efforts
    concerning the measure of biodiversity and taxonomy issues.  The
    CFS publication of "Alien Invaders in Canada's Waters, Wetlands,
    and Forests" in the fall of 2002 provides a useful comprehensive
    overview of AIS in Canada including invasion pathways, affected
    sectors, management and control efforts, and national and
    international collaboration on AIS, information on the
    publication is available at the CFS website noted above.  END
    NOTE.

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    COMMENT
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    ¶16.  Despite the absence of a comprehensive act or law addressing AIS
    federal GOC agencies can effectively employ a number of
    legislative tools in their efforts to curb environmental, social
    and economic threats posed by invasive species.  The Plant
    Protection Act (PPA), in place since 1990, provides a general
    framework for actions against exotic pest species, including the
    establishment of inspection facilities, checkpoints, and the
    authority of the inspectors to enforce regulations.  The PPA's
    broad focus lays the foundations for follow-up acts, such as
    WAPPRIITA in 1992, to reinforce and further define efforts to
    control AIS.  DFO and Transport Canada have the mandate and the
    resources to act quickly to protect against aquatic AIS under
    such legislation as the Fisheries Act and the Canadian Shipping
    Act.  As documented in the SCOFO and CESD reports, explicit
    action can be taken now to fight AIS, if these federal agencies
    have the necessary will and can commit needed resources to the
    task, as well as improve their level of cooperation.  GOC
    officials focusing on AIS know that their agencies must use these
    existing tools expeditiously and effectively to gain credibility
    for the nascent National Invasive Species Management and Policy
    Framework (reftel).  That "national strategy" is, in turn, an
    essential first step for Canada in its progress toward a North
    American strategy on AIS.

    CELLUCCI

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