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ARTICLE · 12 DECEMBER 2012

Canada Must Answer: Why Aren’t We Protecting Polar Bears?

Siskinds LLP
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As the polar bears of the Beaufort Sea face record low ice, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has issued a determination, requiring a response from Canada to submission SEM-11-003 (Protection of Polar Bears).

CanadaEnvironment
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As the polar bears of the Beaufort Sea face record low ice, the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has issued a determination, requiring a response from Canada to submission SEM-11-003 (Protection of Polar Bears). A year ago, on 5 December 2011, the US Center for Biological Diversity filed a claim that Canada is failing to effectively enforce its Species at Risk Act (SARA). Canada listed the polar bear as a species of special concern rather than a threatened or endangered species, "thus denying the bear any substantive legal protections under SARA."

The Center alleges that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) failed to consider the best available information about the status of the polar bear in Canada. The Center alleges that the proper listing (as threatened or endangered) would have afforded greater protection to polar bears and their critical habitat. Among other alleged failures to effectively

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