Canadian species-at-risk consultations overrun the government's guideline by 477 days on average
Since 2017, species qualifying for Canada's Species at Risk Act waited nearly 2.5 years on average to be listed, the study's authors report. Of 288 species assessed, 153 are still waiting and overdue, so that average leaves out the longest waits.
The Scientist · Science desk
6% of species were forwarded on time since the 2017 policy, down from 16% in the eight years before it. Before the policy, the consultation stage ran an average of 484 days past the recommended timeline.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Species forwarded on time since the 2017 policy | 6% | 8 | |
| On time before the policy | 16% | 8 | |
| Average overrun, pre-policy | 484 days | 6 |
What happened
- SARA sets no deadline for the consultation step, and the authors say every delay they found occurred there, before the assessment reached Cabinet.
- Only 6% of species were forwarded on time, down from 16% in the eight years before the policy.
- None of the 49 marine fish or 15 marine mammals assessed since 2017 has been forwarded to Cabinet.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint Cabinet's nine-month clock starts only after the consultation stage, and the 12- or 24-month guideline for that stage is nonbinding, so no enforceable limit covers the step that slips.
- Who's exposed exposure Under the act, listing is what makes it illegal to kill, harm or capture a species. Bay of Fundy striped bass, first assessed as threatened in 2004 and now endangered, is still unlisted.
- What doesn't add up contradiction The 2023 report's most common reason for delay is that information collection is ongoing, yet consultations were already complete for more than 40% of the delayed species it described.
The authors give two averages, and they measure different things. One is the wait of nearly two and a half years to formal legal protection [2]. The other is the 477-day overrun at the consultation stage [6]. Both cover only species that were eventually forwarded to Cabinet, the authors write in the Phys.org piece [15].
Of the 288 species assessed since 2017, 153 are still waiting and are already overdue [7]. That is 53% [19]. Neither average includes them. The authors say these species have been waiting much longer than the ones that were listed [17], so in our view the 2.5-year figure is a floor. The condition on that view is that the longer waits are the authors' statement, not a figure we can check.
The before-and-after comparison needs the same care. Consultations ran 484 days over the recommended timeline before the 2017 policy and 477 days over after it [6], a gap of 7 days [20]. The thing this doesn't tell you is whether the species forwarded after 2017 were harder cases than those forwarded before.
The reasons on record are thin. For 31 Pacific salmon populations, all assessed as endangered or threatened, the 2023 report gave the identical explanation: "The collection of information required to inform a listing decision for the species is extensive and underway." [14]
Limber pine shows a finished consultation with nothing after it. COSEWIC assessed the tree as endangered in 2014, the minister responded in 2015 and consultations were completed in 2021, yet it has still not gone to Cabinet [10].
Those annual reports are meant to explain why species have missed their recommended timelines [18]. As of January 2023, 173 species were overdue, and that year's report omitted 63 of them [13], or 36% [21]. Fish were 57 of the 63 [13].
What to watch
- Whether limber pine, with consultations complete since 2021, is forwarded to Cabinet.
- Whether future SARA annual reports cover every overdue species and give a reason specific to each.
- Whether the 12- and 24-month consultation guideline becomes binding or the act gains a statutory deadline for that stage.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence58
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives45
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Once a species is listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened under the Species at Risk Act, it becomes illegal to kill, harm or capture it or damage its residences.
- [2]
Since 2017, species that need SARA protections have waited nearly two and a half years on average to formally receive legal protections, well beyond the timelines the federal government set for itself.
- [3]
After the minister forwards an assessment to Cabinet, Cabinet has nine months under SARA to make a final decision.
- [4]
SARA sets no deadline for the consultation step, and every delay the authors found occurred at this stage, before the assessment reached Cabinet.
- [5]
In 2017 the federal government introduced a nonbinding policy recommending that consultations take no more than 12 months, or 24 months for species requiring extended consultation.
- [6]
For species forwarded to Cabinet since 2017, the consultation stage ran an average of 477 days past the recommended timeline; before the policy the average was 484 days.
- [7]
Of the 288 species assessed since 2017, 153 are still waiting and are already overdue.
- [8]
Only 6% of species were forwarded on time, down from 16% in the eight years before the 2017 policy.
- [9]
Not one of the 49 marine fish or 15 marine mammals assessed since 2017 has been forwarded to Cabinet.
- [10]
COSEWIC assessed limber pine as endangered in 2014 and the minister responded in 2015; consultations were completed in 2021, yet the species has still not been forwarded to Cabinet.
- [11]
The Bay of Fundy striped bass, first assessed by COSEWIC as threatened in 2004, is now endangered but remains unlisted without any legal protections under SARA.
- [12]
For more than 40% of the delayed species described in the 2023 SARA annual report, consultations were already complete.
- [13]
Of the 173 species overdue as of January 2023, 63 were left out of that year's SARA annual report entirely, and 57 of those were fish.
- [14]
In the 2023 report, 31 Pacific salmon populations, all assessed as endangered or threatened, received the identical explanation: "The collection of information required to inform a listing decision for the species is extensive and underway."
- [15]
The nearly 2.5-year wait and the 477-day overrun figures include only species that were eventually forwarded to Cabinet.
- [16]
For the species included in the 2023 report, the most common reason given for a missed timeline was that information collection was ongoing.
- [17]
Species still awaiting protected status have been waiting for much longer than the nearly 2.5-year average.
- [18]
The SARA annual reports are meant to explain why species have missed their recommended timelines.
- [19]
153 of 288 species assessed since 2017, about 53%, are still waiting and overdue.
- [20]
The average consultation overrun differs by 7 days between the periods (484 days before the policy, 477 after).
- [21]
The 63 species left out of the 2023 report are about 36% of the 173 overdue species.
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Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgEndangered species in Canada face extensive delays receiving protection
1 article · October 15, 2026
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