Species protection, recovery activities
 23.17 (1) Subject to subsections (2.1) and (3), subsections (4) to (9) apply with respect to the following activities intended to assist in the protection or recovery of one or more species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species: 1. Any activity that implements, or that supports or assists in the implementation of, an action that the Government of Ontario plans to take and that is identified in a government response statement published by the Minister under subsection 12.1 (1) of the Act. 2. If the Minister has not yet published a statement under subsection 12.1 (1) of the Act in response to a recovery strategy prepared for the species under subsection 11 (1) of the Act, any activity that is identified as an approach to achieving the recommended objectives set out in the recovery strategy. 3. If a recovery strategy has not yet been prepared for the species under subsection 11 (1) of the Act, any activity that implements, or assists in the implementation of, an action or approach recommended in a recovery strategy prepared for the species under subsection 37 (1) of the Species at Risk Act (Canada) or in a management plan prepared for the species under section 65 of that Act. 4. If a recovery strategy has not yet been prepared for the species under subsection 11 (1) of the Act and if neither a recovery strategy nor a management plan has been prepared for the species under subsection 37 (1) or section 65 of the Species at Risk Act
(Canada), any of the following activities: i. an activity to enhance, maintain or restore the species’ habitat, including, A. the maintenance or enhancement of vegetation that forms a component of the species’ habitat, B. the maintenance or restoration of the ecological integrity of a species habitat, C. the maintenance of water quality, quantity or flow within the species’ habitat at levels that are suitable for the species to carry out its life processes, or the enhancement of water quality, quantity or flow within the species’ habitat to such levels, or D. the creation or enhancement of habitat features for the species such as nesting or hibernation sites, ii. an activity to reduce a threat to the species that is identified in a status report referred to in section 21 of the Species at Risk Act (Canada), iii. an activity to develop scientific knowledge related to, A. the distribution or abundance of the species or its habitat in Ontario, B. the manner in which the species depends upon or uses its habitat, or C. a threat to the species identified in a status report referred to in subparagraph ii. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14; O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (1-3). (2) The reference to ecological integrity in sub-subparagraph 4 i B of subsection (1) refers to a condition in which biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities are characteristic of their natural regions, and rates of change and ecosystem processes are unimpeded and, when used with reference to an area, indicates that the area, (a) has healthy and viable populations of native species, including species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List, and maintains the habitat on which the species depend; and (b) has levels of air and water quality consistent with protection of biodiversity. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14. (2.1) This section does not apply to an activity to which section 23.17.2 applies. O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (4). (3) Subject to subsection (3.1), the exemption under subsection (4) of the killing of one or more members of a species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species that occurs while carrying out an activity described in subsection (1) does not apply to an intentional killing. O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (5). (3.1) The exemption in subsection (4) applies to the intentional killing of one or more members of a species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species that occurs during an activity described in subsection (1), if the killing is, (a) for the purpose of euthanasia in respect of a member of an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal or fish species that has become ill or is injured accidentally as a consequence of the activity with no possibility of survival; and (b) carried out in accordance with the procedures relating to the handling and care of the species referred to in subparagraph 5 i of subsection (8) by a person with expertise in the species who is trained in respect of the procedures and who is acting on the advice of, (i) a member of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, or (ii) a person employed by the Ministry. O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (5). (3.2) The exemption under subsection (5) does not apply with respect to the possession, collection or transport of all or part of a dead member of a species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species if the member of the species was killed in such circumstances that subsection (3) would apply with respect to the killing but subsection (3.1) would not. O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (5). (4) Clause 9 (1) (a) and subsection 10 (1) of the Act do not apply to a person who, while carrying out an activity described in subsection (1), kills, harms, harasses, captures or takes a member of a species that is the object of the activity, or damages or destroys the habitat of such a species, if the person satisfies all of the conditions set out in subsection (6). O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14. (5) Subclauses 9 (1) (b) (i) and (ii) of the Act do not apply to a person who, while carrying out an activity described in subsection (1), possesses, collects or transports a living or dead member of a species listed in the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species, or a part of a member of such a species, if the person satisfies all the conditions set out in subsection (6). O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (6). (6) The following are the conditions that a person who carries out an activity described in subsection (1) must satisfy for the purposes of subsection (4): 1. Before commencing the activity, the person must, i. give the Minister notice of the activity by submitting a notice of activity form available on the Registry to the Minister through the Registry, and ii. prepare in accordance with subsection (7) a mitigation plan that meets the requirements of subsection (8) and that identifies the steps that will be taken, A. to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on the species that is the object of the activity, and B. to monitor the effectiveness of the steps referred to in sub-subparagraph A. 2. The person must ensure that the notice of activity form includes, i. a description of the activity, ii. the proposed start and end dates for the activity, iii. the location at which the activity will be carried out, and iv. the name of each species that is the object of the activity. 3. The person must follow the requirements set out in section 23.3 with respect to the completion of the notice of activity form, the keeping of records relating to the notice of activity form and the updating of the information on the Registry. 4. After the mitigation plan is prepared, the person must, i. ensure that the activity is carried out in accordance with the mitigation plan, ii. retain a copy of the mitigation plan for at least five years after the activity is complete, iii. provide a copy of the mitigation plan to the Ministry within 14 days of receiving a request for it, and iv. if the activity occurs over a period of more than five years, ensure that, at least once every five years, the mitigation plan is updated in accordance with subsection (7) to include information obtained while monitoring the effects of the activity under paragraph 6. 5. While carrying out the activity, the person must ensure that the steps described in subsection (9), and such other steps as may be described in the mitigation plan, are taken to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on each species that is the object of the activity. 6. While carrying out the activity, the person shall ensure that the following are monitored: i. the effects of the activity on each species that is the object of the activity, and ii. the effectiveness of the steps taken to minimize adverse effects on each species. 7. While carrying out the activity, the person must create and maintain a record of, i. the effects of the activity on each species that is the object of the activity, i.1 if a member of a species that is the object of the activity is euthanized, the following information: A. the reason the member required euthanasia, B. the name and contact details of the person who carried out the euthanasia, C. a summary of the person’s expertise related to the species and the person’s training in the euthanasia procedures outlined in the mitigation plan, and D. the name, position and contact details of the member of the College of Veterinarians of Ontario or employee of the Ministry who advised that the member of the species needed to be euthanized, ii. the steps that are taken by the person carrying out the activity to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on each species that is the object of the activity, including the locations where the steps are taken, and an assessment of the effectiveness of those steps, and iii. the names of each individual with expertise who was responsible for carrying out or supervising the activity. 8. The person must, i. retain a copy of the record created under paragraph 7 for at least five years after it is prepared, and ii. provide a copy of the record created under paragraph 7 to the Ministry within 14 days of receiving a request for it. 9. Within 180 days of the completion of the activity, the person must prepare a report on the activity and submit it to the Ministry and the report must include the following information: i. a description of the activity, including its purpose and a statement as to whether the activity is a type of activity described in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection (1), ii. a copy of the record created under paragraph 7, and iii. a summary of the outcome of the activity, including a detailed assessment of the extent to which the activity achieved its purpose. 10. If the person or an employee or agent of the person observes a species identified in the notice of activity form in the course of carrying out the activity, the person must ensure that, within three months of the observation, the Ontario Species at Risk Observation Reporting Form available on a website maintained by the Government of Ontario is completed, detailing the species and number of individual members that were observed, the date and location of observation and any other information requested on the form. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14; O. Reg. 218/18, s. 14; O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (7, 8), 17. (7) A mitigation plan shall be prepared and updated by one or more persons with expertise in relation to every species that is the subject of the plan, using the best available information on steps that may help minimize or avoid adverse effects on the species, which includes consideration of information obtained from the Ministry, aboriginal traditional knowledge and community knowledge if it is reasonably available. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14. (8) A mitigation plan prepared with respect to an activity identified in a notice of activity form submitted to the Minister under subparagraph 1 i of subsection (6) must include the following information: 1. The name and contact information of the person carrying out the activity. 2. The following information with respect to the activity: i. a description of the activity, including an explanation of its nature and purpose, ii. the proposed start and completion dates of the activity, iii. a description of all of the stages of the activity and a timeline for the stages, and iv. a description of the location of the activity. 3. The identity of the species that is the object of the activity and an assessment of the likely effects of the activity on the members of the species. 4. Detailed plans of the steps the person will take during the activity to minimize the adverse effects of the activity on the species that is the object of the activity, including details of the steps described in subsection (9), such as the dates on which and locations at which each step will be taken. 5. If the activity requires the handling of a member of a species listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario List as an endangered or threatened species that is an amphibian, bird, reptile, mammal or fish, i. the procedures relating to the handling and care of the species, including, A. procedures relating to the appropriate treatment that will be provided to a member of the species if it becomes sick or accidentally injured as a result of the activity, and B. if the procedures referred to in sub-subparagraph A include procedures to be followed by the person when euthanizing members of the species, the procedures for euthanasia, and ii. a written opinion prepared by an animal care committee established under subsection 17 (1) of the Animals for Research Act, stating that the procedures included under subparagraph i provide for the proper handling and care of the species. 6. Details regarding the steps the person will take to monitor the effects of the activity on members of the species that is the object of the activity and the effectiveness of the steps taken to minimize adverse effects on the species. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14; O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (9). (9) The following are the steps that a person must take to minimize the adverse effects of the activity described in the notice of activity form submitted to the Minister under subparagraph 1 i of subsection (6) on a species that is the object of the activity: 1. The person must ensure that the activity is carried out by or under the supervision of a person with expertise in the type of species protection or recovery work involved in the activity. 2. The person, and any employee, agent or contractor of the person, must receive training on the following subjects before carrying out any part of the activity that is likely to affect the species: i. the identity of the species, ii. how to identify the species and its habitat, iii. potential threats posed to the species and its habitat by the activity, and iv. the steps that must be taken under paragraphs 3 to 5 to minimize adverse effects on members of the species. 3. Any part of the activity that could reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect on a member of the species must be carried out by or in consultation with a person with expertise related to the species. 4. If a member of the species is captured, collected or taken while carrying out the activity, the person must not, i. possess a living member of the species for a period longer than is necessary to carry out the activity or minimize adverse effects to the member, and in no case longer than seven days, ii. possess a dead member, or a part of a living or dead member, of the species for a period longer than is necessary to carry out the activity, or iii. release a living member of the species into an area other than the area from which the member was captured or taken. 5. The person must ensure that steps are taken to avoid the spread of diseases or pests to members of the species and to avoid compromising their genetic integrity. O. Reg. 176/13, s. 14; O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (10, 11), 18. (10)-(12) Revoked: O. Reg. 831/21, s. 14 (12).