Canadian Wildlife Service - History

History

CWS traces its history to the early 20th century with the decline and/or extinction of several species of migratory birds in eastern North America as a result of hunting, including the Passenger Pigeon. It became apparent to the federal government that the provincial responsibilities toward hunting regulation of migratory birds by various sub-national jurisdictions (provinces in Canada, states in the United States) was limited in scope.

In 1916, Great Britain (for Canada) and the United States of America signed the "Migratory Birds Convention", followed by the Parliament of Canada passing the Migratory Birds Convention Act in 1917, which gave the federal government responsibility for managing migratory bird species either harmless or beneficial to man. The Convention adopted a uniform system of protection for certain species of birds which migrate between the United States and Canada, in order to assure the preservation of species including setting dates for closed seasons on migratory birds and prohibiting hunting insectivorous birds, but allowed killing of birds under permit when injurious to agriculture. The Convention was amended by the Parksville protocol (initialled by the parties in 1995) to update and improve the conservation of migratory birds and to establish a legal framework for the subsistence take of birds. Canada implemented the Protocol by enacting the revised Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994.

Federal responsibility for the conservation of birds and terrestrial mammals was concentrated in 1947 when the Dominion Wildlife Service (DWS) was formed. The name was quietly changed in 1950 to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS). Harrison Lewis was the first head of the new service, remaining in that post until 1952. By 1970 it was apparent that federal responsibility was required for further wildlife management issues, such as mammals crossing the International Boundary with the United States, as well as Canada's maritime borders with France (St. Pierre and Miquelon), Denmark (Greenland), Russia and Norway. There were also serious problems mounting whereby increasing numbers of wildlife species were threatened with extinction.

In 1973 the Canada Wildlife Act was passed, giving the federal government authority to undertake wildlife research and, in cooperation with the provinces, to undertake wildlife conservation and interpretation activities. This act applies to all "non-domestic animals" in the nation.

From 2003 through 2010, the role and function of the CWS changed. In December 2002, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was given Royal assent and ushered in a dramatic shift in human and financial resources away from migratory bird management to the administration and implementation of SARA. Ongoing departmental reorganizations through this time period also impacted the Service through the creation of centralized services. Thus, by 2010, CWS no longer had dedicated translators, publications and information staff, enforcement officers or scientists. All of these components had become centralized departmentally with CWS losing its ability to set priorities or control policy in these areas.

CWS currently holds responsibility for 140 National Wildlife Areas across the nation in a variety of environments. CWS scientific experts also advise the federal and provincial governments during environmental impact assessments for various construction and development projects which might have an adverse impact on Canadian wildlife.