Canadian enviros on Monday blasted federal endangered species legislation introduced in April as far too weak, and criticized Prime Minister Jean Chretien for a lack of leadership on the issue. The bill would set fines for individuals of up to $168,000 and for companies of up to $670,000 for deliberately killing an endangered animal or destroying its habitat, and would allow jail terms of up to five years in some cases, provisions that lead Environment Minister David Anderson to defend the bill as one of the toughest of its kind in the world. But enviros criticize the measure because politicians rather than scientists would decide which species are declared endangered and because it leaves too much to the provinces, which enviros say have a poor record of protecting species. Hearings will be held on the bill this fall.
