Minister's reconsideration of emergency order for boreal caribou

On January 13, 2012, as directed by the Federal Court, the Minister of the Environment reconsidered his decision in respect of whether there is an imminent threat to the survival or recovery of the boreal caribou.

The Minister’s initial decision had been set aside by the Federal Court on July 28, 2011, and the matter returned to him for reconsideration.

In his reconsideration, the Minister considered what was before him on the date of the initial decision, as well as new, relevant information that had arisen since his initial decision. He also considered, as directed by the Court, the honour of the Crown, and the purposes of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and of section 80 of SARA.

Based on all the information before him, the Minister determined that there was no imminent threat to the survival or recovery of the boreal caribou, as listed on Schedule 1 of the List of Wildlife Species at Risk.

The Minister made this determination taking into account that there are approximately 32,000 caribou in Canada, 64% of which are in self-sustaining populations. Furthermore, while there are threats to the recovery of certain populations, there is still sufficient time to take management actions that would achieve recovery objectives set out in the proposed recovery strategy.

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