Canada opts not to block international trade in 76 endangered species – ‘No other country has ever taken such an action’
By Bob Weber
10 December 2014 (The Canadian Press) – Recently released documents indicate the federal government has reservations about restricting international trade in endangered species — more of them than almost any other government on Earth. The papers show that Canada has opted out of nearly every resolution to protect endangered species taken at last year’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Delegates from 180 countries voted to extend protection to 76 plant and animal species from soft-shelled turtles to tropical hardwoods. Canada, however, filed “reservations” against all those motions, meaning Canadian trade in those species will continue as normal. “It’s unprecedented,” said Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “I can’t think of any explanation for it. “I’ve been told no other country has ever taken such an action.” The protections were voted on in March 2013 at the last CITES convention in Bangkok. According to a document released earlier this fall, Canada chose to opt out of all but one of the motions that upgraded species protections. Canada’s 76 reservations, all filed in 2013, dwarf those of other nations. Over the entire 39-year history of the treaty, Iceland has filed 22 reservations; Japan 19 and the United Kingdom seven. The United States has filed none. Few of the species Canada declined to protect have any significant domestic value. A small East Coast fishery exists for the porbeagle shark, but Canada does not harvest manatees, manta rays or ebony. Environment Canada spokesman Danny Kingsberry said the reservations are temporary and the protections will eventually come into law. “Canada, as with many other parties to the convention, requires additional time to make the necessary regulatory changes,” he said in an email. “These reservations are technical in nature, not substantive, and were made to allow Canada sufficient time to amend its domestic legislation to reflect the changes.” But the text of the agreement says reservations are “a unilateral statement that (a country) will not be bound by the provisions of the Convention relating to trade in a particular species.” Fink said Canada has previously managed to produce regulations well within a 90-day grace period allowed under the treaty. “As far as I’m aware, this has never been a problem for Canada,” she said. “There is no logical explanation for Canada to place reservations on all of these species, and no plausible excuse for a 20-month delay in updating our legislation.” Opposition politicians have also failed to find any logic in the government’s actions. “Why do you need 20 months?” asked Liberal environment critic John McKay. “You can amend regulations in a heartbeat. I don’t know why that’s complicated.” New Democrat environment critic Megan Leslie, who has submitted a question to the government on the issue, noted a lot of time has passed since the rest of the world agreed to protect the plants and animals. “It doesn’t make sense to me why they’re putting a reservation on the manatee — it’s not even a Canadian species. I don’t really know what gives here.” The government has also failed to follow through with a promise last August to update its wild animal and plant trade regulations, said the animal welfare fund. Canada’s stance baffles its international partners, said Fink. “It’s something that’s been noticed in the international conservation community — why has Canada done this?” Canada has been fighting a rearguard action at CITES over polar bears. It has been working to stop the organization from further restricting trade in polar bear parts. Support for Canada’s position, however, has been declining. In 2010, CITES considered banning all trade in polar bear parts and the European Union voted in a single bloc with Canada against it. In 2013, after major European countries including the United Kingdom and Germany said they opposed Canada’s polar bear hunt, the EU simply sat on its hands.
Canada opts not to block international trade in 76 endangered species
Canada has long been a global embarassment when it comes to the environment. They need a revolution as much as the United Slaves of Amerika does.
Apparently, this is what most Canadians support – otherwise, they'd strenously object.
So… as I've long expected, humans will NOT do what needs to be done to preserve a future for themselves, their children or humanity.
One by one, case by case, we see thousands of examples each year where we refuse to do the "right thing". The aggregate total of these mistakes is why we have such a mess in the global environment now and why despite these stories, it continues to accelerate, year by year.
It definitely all adds up. And we definitely do not care. Which definitely means we are going to go on creating a non-habital planet.
Learn to say goodbye to all that is beautiful, peaceful, plentiful, and properous. What remains will be hard, painful, ugly and poverty.
"So… as I've long expected, humans will NOT do what needs to be done to preserve a future for themselves, their children or humanity." I have no obligation to care about any of these things, and neither does anyone else. No one is forcing people to have children. "Learn to say goodbye to all that is beautiful, peaceful, plentiful, and prosperous." Need a tissue?
Yeah, right. You have "no obligation" to care about any of these things". But only because you are among the dumbest humans on the planet.
Keep telling yourself these inane stupidities, and one day it will all come true when there is nothing left to care about.
It's not just about having children either you f*cking idiot. It's about what YOU are doing (you're alive, right?). You may only have two-firing neurons in your pea-sized brain, but that's still something. You obviously have enough energy to make a stupid post about how arrogant and ignorant you are, so why not take that energy and do something worthwhile?
Oh, right. You don't care about a damned thing…. not even yourself.
You can shove your tissue up your ass and wipe out the muck where your brain resides.
You are about a stupid as they get. I'm surprised you can even type.
"But only because you are among the dumbest humans on the planet." Perhaps, but I'm one of the most existentially aware humans you will ever meet. Human beings are no more important than ants, we are just organisms. All of our silly stories about how great we are, how great the earth is, how great life is, are just that, stories. Non-existence is better than existence, for us, for everything. The earth will be far more beautiful when it resembles Mars.