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- OPEN ACCESS
- Vanessa Gruben,
- Elaine Hyshka,
- Matthew Bonn,
- Chelsea Cox,
- Marilou Gagnon,
- Adrian Guta,
- Martha Jackman,
- Jason Mercredi,
- Akia Munga,
- Eugene Oscapella,
- Carol Strike, and
- Hakique Virani
The International Guidelines on Human Rights and Drug Policy recommend that states commit to adopting a balanced, integrated, and human rights-based approach to drug policy through a set of foundational human rights principles, obligations arising from human rights standards, and obligations arising from the human rights of particular groups. In respect of the Guidelines and standing obligations under UN Treaties, Canada must adopt stronger and more specific commitments for a human rights-based, people-centered, and public health approach. This approach must commit to the decriminalization of people who use drugs and include the decriminalization of possession, purchase, and cultivation for personal consumption. In this report, we will first turn to the legal background of Canada's drug laws. Next, we will provide an overview of ongoing law reform proposals from civil society groups, various levels of government, the House of Commons, and the Senate. We end with a three-staged approach to reform and a series of targeted recommendationscr. - OPEN ACCESSHabitat sensitivity is a consideration for decision-making under environmental laws in many jurisdictions. However, habitat sensitivity has been variously defined and there is no consistent approach to its quantification, which limits our understanding of how habitat sensitivity varies among systems and in response to different pressures. We review various definitions offered in the scientific literature and policy documents before suggesting a universal framework for habitat sensitivity as (i) a habitat trait that defines the ecological impacts from a given pressure, (ii) which is composed of three components (habitat resistance, resilience, and recoverability), and (iii) which is quantified by measuring the change and recovery in the state of key habitat attributes in response to pressures. In addition, we provide guidance toward a consistent approach to assessing habitat sensitivity, which includes the use of pressure benchmarks and standardized metrics of change in key habitat attributes to create a common scale for comparison among habitat attributes and pressures. Our framework and recommendations should help to standardize the way in which habitat sensitivity is defined and assessed, and could be integrated into decision-making processes to improve ecosystem management in different jurisdictions.
- OPEN ACCESSAlberta grizzly bears are classified as a threatened species in the province of Alberta as of 2010, with human-caused mortality and habitat loss a primary threat. The people who live, work, and recreate within bear habitat play a crucial role in their conservation. While the public is often enthusiastic about grizzly bears, and opportunistically report their observations to government staff, these reports are not systematic or rigorously collected and lack key information. As such, we developed GrizzTracker as a community science program. Following several years of successful deployment, we analyzed community scientist data and evaluated the efficacy of the program through an online user survey. We found that the GrizzTracker app was useful as a data collection and public engagement tool, yielding information for applied management, and that community scientists were generally satisfied. We provide considerations for future program development, including considerations for human, social, technological, and financial capital investment related to design, development, and implementation of data collection protocols, the importance of clearly communicating outcomes, and opportunities for educational outreach. While there is continued trepidation by traditionally trained scientists to develop or engage in community science programs, and some noted areas of improvement for our program specifically, we think that GrizzTracker offers a success story in community science.
- OPEN ACCESSAssessing cat local abundance provides information on where wandering cat numbers are highest and what habitats or factors are associated with wandering cats. A variety of stakeholders can lead this research and then use the findings to make scientifically informed decisions to guide the physical locations of cat management actions. Here, we document a framework that engages community members, uses minimal equipment (six trail cameras), and provides scientifically derived information for interested parties to inform, direct, or test the effectiveness of cat management practices. Using these methods in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, we demonstrate how we estimated cat population size and cat local abundances across a variety of co-variates while accounting for non-perfect detection by using 55 trail camera sites and N-mixture models. Urban areas had three-fold higher local wandering cat abundances than parkland areas, and neighbourhoods below the median income had the highest local abundances of wandering cats. We estimated there are between 8905 and 48,419 (mean 21,298) wandering cats in Gatineau, with 18%–73% of those cats being unowned. These findings can be used to identify locations for future cat management. If estimates of cat abundance are repeated, they can assess the effectiveness of management actions.
- OPEN ACCESSLong-term ecological research (LTER) projects are considered valuable training grounds for graduate student researchers, yet student voices are largely absent from discussions of LTER merits in the literature. We aimed to identify benefits and challenges encountered by current and former graduate students in conducting graduate research within LTER projects. To explore graduate student experiences and perspectives, we conducted a survey comprising both closed-ended questions (i.e., multiple choice and Likert scale) and open-ended questions. From the responses, we identified emergent categories related to positive and negative experiences using sentiment analysis. We found agreement with purported benefits in areas including networking and access to established field sites and protocols. However, participants also identified data accessibility, authorship decisions, communication, and interpersonal conflicts as significant sources of challenges. We synthesized survey results with existing literature to provide actionable recommendations for principal investigators in four main areas (data, authorship, communication, and management) through an LTER lens. In addition to providing longitudinal data, LTER projects offer graduate students both physical and methodological infrastructure that can serve as the scaffold for new research questions to be developed. However, the likelihood of success of student research, as well as the success of the students themselves, can be improved when the needs of graduate students are prioritized.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Samantha M. Knight,
- Barbara I. Bleho,
- Melissa A. Grantham,
- Richard Westwood,
- Nicola Koper, and
- Cary D. Hamel
Poweshiek skipperling (Oarisma poweshiek Parker, 1870) populations have declined precipitously in the past few decades, and their global range is now restricted to two isolated regions, one of which is the managed Manitoba tall grass prairie in Canada. In this paper, we used a decade of survey data from 2010 to 2019 to understand how habitat features, management practices, and extreme weather impact Poweshiek skipperling abundance in Manitoba. The strongest predictor of abundance was the density of black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta L.), a primary nectar plant for adults. Poweshiek skipperling abundance also had a negative relationship with both the number of years since a burn occurred and the number of years since grazing occurred. Cumulative precipitation during their active period (May–June) had a negative relationship with skipperling abundance, whereas warm early springs and cool temperatures during the active period had positive relationships. These results suggest that management actions that maintain tall grass prairie habitat in an early successional stage (burning and grazing) and maintain important nectar sources benefit this population. In contrast, extreme weather events had varying effects on Poweshiek skipperling abundance. Results from this study inform ongoing management practices in the Manitoba tall grass prairie to support this endangered population. - OPEN ACCESSDespite the challenges posed by climate change and the biodiversity crisis, most academic research continues to stay within academia and the gaps between conservation science, policy, and practice remain intact. We need to improve the exchange of evidence between researchers and conservation practitioners and focus on solutions-oriented, interdisciplinary science and co-developed research. As we continue to break climate records and lose record numbers of species every year, now is the time for academics to think and act beyond their institutions.
- OPEN ACCESS
- K. Lowitt,
- A. Francis,
- L. Gunther,
- B.N. Madison,
- L. McGaughey,
- A. Echendu,
- M. Kaur,
- K.A. Roussel,
- Z. St Pierre, and
- A. Weppler
This paper examines fish consumption advisories (FCAs) as a site of transboundary governance in the Upper St Lawrence River with the aim of identifying opportunities for enhanced coordination and power sharing to address environmental injustices. The Upper St Lawrence River is part of the Great Lakes watershed of North America and the traditional territory of multiple Indigenous Nations, as well as the present-day jurisdictions of Ontario (Canada), Quebec (Canada), and New York State (USA). Through an analysis of publicly available information on FCA programs, we examine similarities and differences in these programs across jurisdictions. We find an overall lack of coordination in fish monitoring and differences in consumption advice for a waterway in which fish may easily move between transboundary areas. We offer recommendations for improving FCAs in this transboundary waterway from the lens of environmental justice, focusing on (1) a shared and transparent approach to monitoring contaminant levels and fish species; (2) integration of cultural food practices; (3) enhanced outreach to angler populations; and (4) upholding the self-determination of Indigenous communities. We also underscore that FCAs should not be seen as a permanent solution. Preventing and reducing contaminants, including associated harm reduction in communities affected by FCAs, need to be priorities. - OPEN ACCESSContemporaneous reforms to Canada and British Columbia's environmental impact assessment legislation have the potential to advance Access to Environmental Justice. Access to Environmental Justice is the ability of individuals and communities who are disproportionately and negatively impacted by environmental decisions to access legal and regulatory processes and to have their concerns heard and addressed through environmental decision-making and dispute resolution. Access to Environmental Justice connects concepts of environmental justice, public participation, the rule of law, and access to justice to provide a framework for evaluating the implementation of environmental impact assessment laws. We conducted a preliminary analysis of early implementation of legislative reforms in Canada and British Columbia. Our analysis indicates that a number of factors influence who is seeking to access environmental justice through environmental impact assessment, including geography, project type, and the availability of a legislative mechanism that allows anyone to request an assessment. Whether Canada and British Columbia's reforms are advancing Access to Environmental Justice requires continued analysis as projects continue to be assessed under the new laws.
- OPEN ACCESS
- S.E. Cannon,
- J.W. Moore,
- M.S. Adams,
- T. Degai,
- E. Griggs,
- J. Griggs,
- T. Marsden,
- A.J. Reid,
- N. Sainsbury,
- K.M. Stirling,
- Axdii A. Yee S. Barnes,
- R. Benson,
- D. Burrows,
- Gala'game R. Chamberlin,
- B. Charley,
- D. Dick,
- A.T. Duncan,
- Kung Kayangas M. Liddle,
- M. Paul,
- N. Paul Prince,
- C. Scotnicki,
- K. Speck,
- J. Squakin,
- C. Van Der Minne,
- J. Walkus,
- K. West,
- Kii'iljuus B. Wilson, and
- The Indigenous Data Sovereignty Workshop Collective
In this paper, we argue that Indigenous data sovereignty (IDS) is vital for addressing threats to ecosystems, as well as for Indigenous Peoples re-establishing and maintaining sovereignty over their territories. Indigenous knowledge-holders face pressure from non-Indigenous scientists to collaborate to address environmental problems, while the open data movement is pressuring them to make their data public. We examine the role of IDS in the context of cumulative effects and climate change that threaten salmon-bearing ecosystems in British Columbia, guided by content from an online workshop in June 2022 and attended exclusively by a Tier-1 audience (First Nations knowledge-holders and/or technical staff working for Nations). Attention to data is required for fruitful collaborations between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers to address the impacts of climate change and the cumulative effects affecting salmon-bearing watersheds in BC. In addition, we provide steps that Indigenous governments can take to assert sovereignty over data, recommendations that external researchers can use to ensure they respect IDS, and questions that external researchers and Indigenous partners can discuss to guide decision-making about data management. Finally, we reflect on what we learned during the process of co-creating materials. - OPEN ACCESSIn Quebec, the Act Respecting Threatened or Vulnerable species (ARTV), adopted in 1989, aims to safeguard Quebec's wild genetic diversity by protecting species at risk. However, since its implementation about 30 years ago, it has been repeatedly pointed out that the application of the Quebec legislative framework for the protection of wildlife species at risk was often slow and inadequate. The aim of this article is therefore to make a series of observations on the limits of current legislation and then propose nine urgent recommendations to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts for species at risk in Quebec. Our recommendations aim to increase the efficiency and transparency of the designation process, reconsider compensation mechanisms for the loss of critical habitat, and harmonize species status between the federal and provincial levels. We hope that our article will pave the way for a constructive discussion leading to an improved protection of wildlife species in precarious situations and their persistence for future generations. The English version of this article is available in the Supplementary material file.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Samira Mubareka,
- John Amuasi,
- Arinjay Banerjee,
- Hélène Carabin,
- Joe Copper Jack,
- Claire Jardine,
- Bogdan Jaroszewicz,
- Greg Keefe,
- Jonathon Kotwa,
- Susan Kutz,
- Deborah McGregor,
- Anne Mease,
- Lily Nicholson,
- Katarzyna Nowak,
- Brad Pickering,
- Maureen G. Reed,
- Johanne Saint-Charles,
- Katarzyna Simonienko,
- Trevor Smith,
- J. Scott Weese, and
- E. Jane Parmley
Given the enormous global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada, and manifold other zoonotic pathogen activity, there is a pressing need for a deeper understanding of the human-animal-environment interface and the intersecting biological, ecological, and societal factors contributing to the emergence, spread, and impact of zoonotic diseases. We aim to apply a One Health approach to pressing issues related to emerging zoonoses, and propose a functional framework of interconnected but distinct groups of recommendations around strategy and governance, technical leadership (operations), equity, education and research for a One Health approach and Action Plan for Canada. Change is desperately needed, beginning by reorienting our approach to health and recalibrating our perspectives to restore balance with the natural world in a rapid and sustainable fashion. In Canada, a major paradigm shift in how we think about health is required. All of society must recognize the intrinsic value of all living species and the importance of the health of humans, other animals, and ecosystems to health for all. - OPEN ACCESSWith the influence of climate change on marine systems expanding, climate adaptation will be fundamental for the future of fisheries management. An exponential increase in Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus landings over the past decade has coincided with warming ocean temperatures. Here, we explore how historical changes in abundance have been linked to changing thermal habitat conditions and project trends with a warming climate under different emissions scenarios. From 1990 to 2018, available thermal habitat increased by 11.6 ± 7.35% and growing degree days have increased by 13.5 ± 7.86 °C·days across the region. With warming, the probability of occurrence is projected to increase up to 20.5% in Canada by 2085 under RCP 8.5 for Atlantic halibut. Our results suggest that shifting patterns of halibut distribution and abundance are linked to thermal conditions and that continued warming will likely continue to enhance habitat conditions, leading to increased abundance in the Canadian range. Collectively, these results illustrate the influence of shifting environmental conditions on population dynamics and emphasize the importance of adaptive management practices in a dynamic future climate.
- OPEN ACCESSMismatches between institutions and social–ecological systems (SESs) are one of the foremost challenges in natural resource management. However, while mismatches are often cited in the literature as a major challenge, empirical evidence of mismatches and their consequences is limited. This is particularly true for complex SESs, such as on the Pacific Coast of North America, where salmon drive interactions across multiple environments, jurisdictions, and scales. Here, I use the theoretical concept of fit to examine institutional alignment in a large-scale Pacific salmon SES, the Skeena River watershed in British Columbia, Canada. Utilizing Canadian federal environmental assessments as a proxy for colonial environmental governance institutions, I describe the common causes and consequences of mismatches between institutions and salmon SESs. This case study suggests that mismatches are threatening salmon sustainability and negatively affecting Indigenous People’s rights, livelihoods, and approaches to resource management and stewardship. I argue that improving social–ecological fit in salmon SESs will require new or revitalized forms of environmental governance that consciously fit the underlying social–ecological dynamics. While these findings are based on the Skeena River watershed, they may be generalizable to other salmon SESs in which mismatches between social and ecological processes and institutions exist.
- OPEN ACCESSTrash capture devices (TCDs) are a rapidly evolving tool for municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, and industries to divert litter from our waterways. Here, we introduce protocols to initiate trash trapping projects to quantify and characterize captured anthropogenic litter based on a case study using Seabins. In addition, we have introduced a network for global data collection via TCDs. Our first protocol is a visual audit of the potential site to inform the type and location for TCD deployment. Our next two protocols quantify and characterize the litter captured by TCDs: (1) a simple protocol intended for daily monitoring and (2) a detailed protocol to characterize and quantify all large debris (>3 cm) and a subset of the small debris (2 mm–3 cm) caught in the devices. Using Seabins in the Toronto Harbour to test our methodology, we found that our subsampling methodology has a 6.9% error rate. Over a 19-week period, the Seabins captured ∼85 000 pieces of small debris. Our study highlights the utility of TCDs and proposes methods to realize this utility globally. TCDs should become more widespread and utilized as a triple threat: a cleanup tool, a data collection tool, and a platform for outreach and education.
- OPEN ACCESSClimate change is affecting the ocean, altering the biogeography of marine species. Yet marine protected area (MPA) planning still rarely incorporates projected species range shifts. We used the outputs of species distribution models fitted with biological and climate data as inputs to identify trends in occurrence for marine species in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We assessed and compared two ways of incorporating climate change projections into MPA planning. First, we overlaid 98 species with modelled distributions now and by the mid-21st century under two contrasting (“no mitigation” and “strong mitigation”) climate change scenarios with existing Provincial marine parks in BC, to ask which species could overlap with protected areas in the future. Second, we completed a spatial prioritization analysis using Marxan with the projected future species ranges as inputs, to ask where priority regions exist for the 98 marine species. We found that many BC marine parks will lose species in both climate scenarios that we analyzed, and that protecting 30% of important marine species will be challenging under the “no mitigation” climate change scenario. Challenges included the coarse resolution of the data and uncertainty in projecting species range shifts.
- OPEN ACCESS
- Alana A. E. Wilcox,
- Jennifer F. Provencher,
- Dominique A. Henri,
- Steven M. Alexander,
- Jessica J. Taylor,
- Steven J. Cooke,
- Philippe J. Thomas, and
- Lydia R. Johnson
The braiding of Indigenous knowledge systems and Western-based sciences offers insights into ecology and has emerged as a way to help address complex environmental issues. We reviewed the publicly available ecological research involving the braiding of Indigenous knowledge systems and Western-based sciences to support collaborative work in the Alberta oil sands region of Canada. We conducted a systematic review, coding for 78 questions in six categories: (1) literature search and bibliographic information; (2) research themes; (3) study setting and design; (4) knowledge systems; (5) power relationships, colonization, and ethical considerations in research; and (6) benefits and challenges of braiding. We identified six articles that braided knowledge, with those articles focusing on environmental management and monitoring for impacts of industrial activity in northern Alberta. Researchers used a broad range of approaches to gather Indigenous knowledge and scientific data and identified multiple challenges (e.g., asymmetries of power, resource availability, and funding) to research. Our findings show that more support is needed to foster, promote, and disseminate interdisciplinary collaborative work involving braiding. Additional support is also required to address Indigenous community research needs related to the assessment of environmental impact and reclamation, as well as the understanding of ecological threats across the region. - OPEN ACCESS
- Michèle Hamers,
- Angie Elwin,
- Rosemary-Claire Collard,
- Chris R. Shepherd,
- Emma Coulthard,
- John Norrey,
- David Megson, and
- Neil D'Cruze
In Canada, there have been calls for increased research into and surveillance of wildlife trade and associated zoonotic disease risks. We provide the first comprehensive analysis of Canadian live wildlife imports over a 7-year period (2014–2020), based on data from federal government databases obtained via Access to Information requests. A total of 1 820 313 individual animals (including wild-caught and captive-bred animals but excluding fish, invertebrates, Columbiformes (pigeons), and Galliformes (game birds)), from 1028 documented import records, were imported into Canada during 2014–2020. Birds were the most imported taxonomic class (51%), followed by reptiles (28%), amphibians (19%), and mammals (2%). In total, 22 taxonomic orders from 79 countries were recorded as imported. Approximately half of the animals (49%) were imported for the exotic pet market. Based on existing literature and a review of the Canadian regulatory apparatus, we gesture to these importations' potential implications for zoonotic disease risk and discuss potential biosecurity challenges at the Canadian border. Finally, we identify data gaps that prevent an extensive assessment of the zoonotic disease risk of live wildlife imports. We recommend data collection for all wildlife importation and improved coordination between agencies to accurately assess zoonotic disease risk. - OPEN ACCESSTitles of scientific papers play a key role in their discovery, and “good” titles engage and recruit readers. Humour is a particularly interesting aspect of title construction, but little is known about whether funny titles boost or limit paper impact. We used a panel of scorers to assess title humour for 2439 papers in ecology and evolution, and measured associations between humour and subsequent citation (self-citation and citation by others). Papers with funnier titles were cited less, but this appears to reflect confounding with paper importance: self-citation data suggest that authors give funnier titles to papers they consider less important. After correction for this, papers with funny titles have significantly higher citation rates (P < 2.2 × 10−16; roughly doubling from lowest to highest humour score)—suggesting that humour recruits readers. We also examined associations between citation rates and other features of titles. Inclusion of acronyms and taxonomic names was associated with lower citation rates, while assertive-statement phrasing and presence of colons, question marks, and political regions were associated with somewhat higher citation rates. Title length had no effect on citation. Our results suggest that scientists can use creativity with titles without having their work condemned to obscurity.
- OPEN ACCESS