Endangered species in Nunavut and Nunavik

Since 1978, a body called the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, or COSEWIC, has kept lists of wildlife and plant species they believe to be in danger of extinction in Canada.

The committee is made up of scientific experts from across Canada. It gets money from the federal government, but keeps an arms-length relationship with the government and is supposed to make independent decisions.

Its meetings are not held in public, except for press conferences at the end.

Right now the committee has no legal mandate. But under Ottawa’s species at risk bill the committee would get its direction from a new federal-provincial ministers’ body called the Canadian Endangered Species Council.

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami fears that if the National Aboriginal Council on Species at Risk is not provided for under the new act, then Inuit and other aboriginal people may have little say about how wildlife species are listed.

Here are their current lists of most major Nunavut and Nunavik species.

In many cases, however, wildlife management boards and government officials are working on new assessements of these populations.

Species on the “endangered” list

These are species the committee believes are facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

• Bowhead whale (Eastern Arctic): April, 1980

• Bowhead whale (Western Arctic): April, 1986

• Beluga (Southeast Baffin-Cumberland Sound): April, 1988

• Beluga (Ungava Bay) April, 1988

• Peary Caribou (High Arctic)

Species on the “threatened” list

These are species the committee believes are likely to become endangered unless something is done to protect them.

• Beluga (Eastern Hudson Bay): April, 1988

• Peary Caribou (Low Arctic): April, 1991

• Peregrine Falcon: May, 2000

Species on the “special concern” list

These are species the committee believes are especially sensitive to human activities or natural events.

• Beluga (Eastern High Arctic-Baffin Bay): April, 1992

• Polar Bear: April, 1999

• Grizzly Bear: April, 1991

Source: Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada