feb 28 new draft memo

8/11/2019 Feb 28 New Draft Memo

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Poirier Chantal [N R]

From:

Sent:

To:

Milburn-Hopwood,Sue [NCR]

March l 2014 6: 2

PM

Beale,Mike [NCR]

Subject:

FW: Urgent - WCF

Attachments:

WCF Emergency Order MTM info (3).docx

Don't know if you

want

to review before this cornes to you officially Monday. This is what

1

am proposing. Sue

From

Milburn-Hopwood,Sue [NCR]

Sent: March 1, 2014 6:01 PM

To: Mclean,Robert [NCR]; Gaydamack,Natasha [NCR]

Cc: Taylor,Mary

[NCRJ;

Houle,Patricia [Quebec]; Sousa,Michael [NCR]

Subject: Urgent -

WCF

As

you will have seen in the email exchanges we are to proceed with a MTM

for

lnfo.

1

alked

with

Mike today and

he

wants a

letter

and note along the lines we discussed earlier in the week.

1have drafted

what

1 hink we should send. Mike wants to see Monday morning before

he

leaves

for

Europe.

Can you please review over the weekend and get back tome with any changes.

We can discuss any concerns Monday morn ing before 9:30 as we are meeting

with

the DMs

at

9:30 re recovery

strategies.

Sue

From Mclean,Robert [NCR]

Sent:

February 28, 2014 6:13

PM

To: Gaydamack,Natasha [NCR]

Cc: Taylor,Mary [NCR]; Milburn-Hopwood,Sue [NCR]; Harris,Ken [NCR]; Houle,Patricia [Quebec]; Sousa,Michael [NCR]

Subject: WCF

Natasha,

Further to your call earlier today, 1 revised the MTM and drafted a couple

of

letters (all in the one

Word doc). Not sure l'm happy with everything l've done and am still thinking through the issues.

Hope you have a great weekend

B

1


2/7

MIN-175318

MEMORANDUM TO MINISTER

THE

WESTERN

CHORUS FROG

(GREAT LAKES/ST.LAWRENCE-CANADIAN SHIELD

POPULATION) AND

A

PROPOSED

RESlDENTIA.L DEVELOPM.ENT IN

QUEBEC

PETITIONS

REQUESTING THE

USE

OF AN EMERGENCY ORDER UNDER THE

. .

_PE IES

TRISKACT ________________________________________________ -: _ t_a

_

(For Information)

PURPOSE

To provide information with respect to the Western Chorus Frog (Grea t Lakes/St. Lawrence-

Canadian Shield population) and petitions requesting that an emergency order be issued to

provide protection for the Western Chorus Frog in La Prairie. located on the south shorn

of

Montreal. a-prepesed--residenal-de i el-Opmettt--fn-la--\l.il4-e--de-la-:Prai14e;-Ql:lebee

SUMMARY

As you were informed in December 2013 (MIN-167227) your predecessor received 3

petitions requesting that he recommend to the Govemor in Council (GiC) tha t an

Emergency Ortler be issued pursuant to Secj:ion 80 of the Species

at Risk ct

to provide

for the Western Chorus Frog s protection in La Prairie, located

on the

south shore

of

Montreal. The petitioners state that a proposed residential real estate development

project would harm the species and its habitat in one of he local populations ofthis

specietr.

In

mid February_lt is e}(pected that the province ofQuebec-_wi+l:-authorize_l work to

relocation a stream in the La Prairie area.

It

is expected that the authorizations for the

infrastructure aspects

of the real estate development project will follow within the next

few months and to proceed in the very near future, and it is }(pected that the project

OOl:lkl-will be initiated shortly after. immediately following

the

authorization (MIN

176618).

t is anticipated that media

'Nil

contiaue to report on the proposed deve lopment and its

impaet--01 1--W -esteni-C-hcH Us-Freg-.-Media-lffies-are--a-vatJ.abl:e-and-will-be-rev-i-s


3/7

CURRENTSTATUS

Jhe Western Chorus Frog is a small lfillP-hibian approximately 2.5 cm long which @p_roduces in

temporary wetlands. The species is particularly vulnerable to changes in surface water drainage

patterns and requires a territory comprised ofvaried terrestrial habitats and a clust.er of_temporary

wetlands.

The 2008 status repo1t prepared by the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada

(COSEWIC) for the Western Chorus Frog describes declines ofapproximately 40% over a 10-

year period both in Quebec and Ontario. The current population is small and is exposed to

ornwing losses of habitat and breeding sites due to suburban expansion and alteration in farming

practices, which have resulted in losses

of

populations and isolation ofre rnaining habitat patches.

The species s found in Quebec and Ontario. The direct management of the Western Chorus Frog

is under provincial jurisdiction except where the species occurs on federal lands.

' . *The

province of Quebec intends to authorize the municipality of La Prairie

in-I


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5/7

Bob Hamilton

Deputy Minister

c c Andrea Lyon

Andrea Lyon

Associate Deputy

Minister

c c Bob Hamilton


6/7

Dear

Thank you for your letter of requesting an emergency protection order to protect the \Vestern

Chorus l''rog and its habitat

ftom

a proposed residential development in la Ville de la Prairie,

Quebee. Departmental officiais vll be responding soon to your request.

l

am pleased

te

advise that a proposed recovery strategy for the Western Chorus Frog is nearing

completion and

\Yill

be posted on the Species at

Risk

Public Registry this spring.

Thank you for your interest in the environment and

the

protection ofspecies at risk.

Best wishes,

Minister

Thank you Jor vour letter of to my predecessor, Peter Kent requesting an emergency

th Chorus

Frog

and its habitat from a PIQP illled

rn9Jg11tial

development in la Ville de la Prairie, Quebec.

Thank you for your letter of addressed to the Honourable Leona Aghtkkaq, Minister of the

Environrnent, requesting an en1ergency protection order to protect

the

Western Chorus Frog and

its habitat from a proposed residential development in la Ville de la .Prairie, Quebec. Minis ter

Aglukkaq has asked that respond on ber behalf.

Environment Canada officiais have reviewed your reguest. The cun-ent threat to the species

relates to habitat destruction continuing across the specis' range in Quebec and Ontario due to

suburban expansion and alteration in fanning practices. Although the decline of he Western

Chorus Frog across all of southern Quebec and Ontario can be classified as biologically serious,

Environrnent Canada concludes that actions contemplated at the La Prairie site do not threaten

the contnued existence of the species elsewhere in Canada and thus did not find an imminent

threat to the survival and recovery of the Western Chorus Frog in Canad a that would be

attrbutable to ths development.

Thank

you

for your interest in

the

protection and conservation of the Western Chorus Frog.

In-oonsi


7/7

Sin1iJm4y,-the-I)epat-imel-lkIBnekltles-that--there-i-s--t:ie-eleal'-imminent-tlweat-te-th:e-reeov-et:y-efccfhe

'Nestern Chorus

Frog

in Canatla that would be attributable

to

this one tlevelopment should it not

be stopped. V/bile iliere is a serious, sudden decline in the species overall population that is

anticipated to continue unless immediate protective actions are taken across the entire

rm1ge

of

the

speoies, it is

net

conclusive that

the

loss ofapproximately 10% of

the

candidate critioal

habitat ofthis one local population of he Western Chorus Frog at the Bois de la Commune site

at

La

Prairie is of such a scale of significance that it would threaten the recovery po-tential of the

ernire speeies.

This

eonclusion sh:ould

not

be interpreted te mean that

the

potential destruction

ofthis

habitat

has either a positive

or

even benign effeet on the affected local population

ofthis

species. 8uch

unmitigated impacts are negative and

pose

a threat

te the

reoovery/survival of

he

speoific local

population

at

Bois de la

Commune,

'Nhich is

an

important population centre for

the

speoies

overall. However, aven

taking that

into eonsideration, it

is

very diff ieult to conolude that

the

scal.e impact at

Bois

de

la

Commune \Vould be suoh tllat

the

chance that reoovery

of

the

Fhe-eur-rent--t-hreaHelat:es-to--habitat-destru.-Otien-.eentirrning-acress-the-speae& --mnge-in-Quebee

and Ontario

ue

te suburban expansion and alteration in farming practiees. n Order QiJp.lying to

ene-spe6ffic-evelopmenteH-0ne-Bpeei.fi&site-will-not--addr-ess-tl-lat'-threat-aHhat-seale.-R-athe1';

once the reeovery strategy

and

oritioal habitat

are

formally identi.fied, the SARA proeess of

ensul'ing-a-s:tate-efover-al-l-preteetion-of.critieal-J.1abitat-wiU-eHahle-a-4ee4sien-t1lat'-op-Or-ates-aHhe

appropriate scale (i.e. species wide).

The

Department plans to post the proposed reeovery

st1 ate-gy--for-Westet n-Gh0rus-P-rog-this--spFing.

Thunk you for your interest in the protection md conservation of the Western Chorus Frog.

Yours sineerely

\DM

or DM

feb 28 new draft memo

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