The failure to protect every species at risk of extinction in Canada is the most unacceptable part of the legislation. There are two reasons that the scope issue has proven problematic for the federal government. But the need for legislation comes from an entirely different source than management of wildlife. Humankind is literally wiping out our fellow creatures on this planet. The Red List was the most comprehensive effort to date to list the species at risk globally.
Extinction is a global issue.
Every species lost forever, off the precipice of existence, diminishes the planet's biodiversity. Canadians, as much as Brazilians, would mourn the loss of the Golden Tamarind Monkey. Germans and Indonesians would mourn the loss of Canada's grizzly. Thus, Canada's position that the federal government can only protect certain species is bizarre and totally at odds with what other jurisdictions, such as the United States and Australia, with its very similar governmental framework, have done in protection endangered species. I have tried to envision the reaction of Canadians if the Government of Brazil explained that it could do nothing for a rare species in the Amazon, because that species was in provincial jurisdiction.