Feds drop plans to skirt Species At Risk Act for major projects

The federal government is abandoning plans to exempt certain projects from laws designed to protect species at risk after an overwhelmingly negative response to the proposal during a summer of consultations.

However environmental groups say Ottawa can still bypass the Species At Risk Act through other means.

The government is planning to introduce legislation in the fall to speed up approvals for major projects, a key promise from Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The government released two discussion papers in May which also proposed, among other things, to give cabinet ministers what it calls "limited" power to exempt projects from what's known as the "jeopardy test" for species at risk.

"But only if it’s in the public interest and if the proponent has made all reasonable efforts to avoid or reduce impacts on at-risk species," the discussion paper read.

A senior government source, speaking on background, confirmed a report by The Toronto Star that the government is no longer planning to move ahead with that part of the discussion paper.

The source said the move comes after feedback on the issue.

In a report published Wednesday summarizing the more than 26,000 submissions Ottawa received during its feedback window, the government said "clear perspectives" emerged regarding species at risk protections.

"Several Indigenous participants shared concerns about the Species at Risk Act proposal and Fisheries Act proposal. Specifically, they were concerned that allowing (cabinet) to approve certain activities in exceptional circumstances deemed to be in the public interest, even with high thresholds and strict conditions, could raise questions of potential precedents for legislative overrides of rights-based and environmental protections and infringe on Indigenous rights," the report read.

Still, the report said many stakeholders supported co-ordinating reviews for species at risk.

"However, there was a consistent view that streamlining must not become deregulation. While many stakeholders supported improvements to efficiency, there was opposition to measures that could weaken core environmental safeguards," the report said.

"Of concern were the proposals on the Species at Risk Act, or those that would potentially reduce environmental review requirements, or increase ministerial and cabinet discretion over environmental conditions."

The Building Canada Act — which was passed as part of the controversial Bill C-5 last summer — gives Ottawa the power to allow projects with a "national interest" designation to skirt a dozen laws. Among them, the Species At Risk Act.

"So one of the really cynical things this government is really good at doing is building multiple pathways to get their outcome," said Julia Levin, an associate director at Environmental Defence.

Last week, her organization launched an ad campaign to draw attention to the potential fate of the Southern Resident Orcas. The group said the whales are at risk if Ottawa moves ahead with its bill changing how major projects are reviewed.

"That's why it's really risky if we celebrate this change, when actually the impacts on species are the same. The outcomes for species are the same. They are still going to suffer as a result of Prime Minister Mark Carney's vision," Levin said.

"Having removed one pathway to extinction is positive. But I'm not confident that species will be any safer because of it because of these other ways that the prime minister has created."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2026.

By Nick Murray | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.