Environmental crime in Canada has long been treated as a regulatory headache rather than the systemic threat it truly is. From illegal fishing and timber harvesting to the illicit trafficking of protected species, these activities represent a multi-billion-dollar global industry that undermines economic stability, threatens national security, and fuels corruption. Yet, while countries like those in the European Union and China are moving toward coherent national strategies to combat these offenses, Canada remains hampered by a fragmented approach that allows perpetrators to exploit jurisdictional silos.
The issue, according to experts, is that environmental crime is a “policy orphan” in the Canadian legislative landscape. While federal and provincial ministers regularly coordinate on biodiversity, pollution, and even niche issues like auto theft, there is no unified pan-Canadian framework to address green crime. This lack of strategic alignment benefits bad actors—poachers, smugglers, and corporate offenders—who find it easy to navigate the gaps between federal and provincial enforcement.
One of the primary obstacles is a legal structure that fails to treat environmental degradation as “serious crime.” Under United Nations standards, an offense must carry a minimum four-year prison sentence to qualify as a serious crime. Canada’s flagship legislation, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, caps sentences at three years. Furthermore, many environmental laws provide judges with no option for incarceration at all, leading prosecutors to rely almost exclusively on fines. For many corporate violators, these fines are merely viewed as a routine “cost of doing business” rather than a meaningful deterrent.
This disconnect is compounded by the “mishmash” of federal and provincial responsibilities. In Canada, terrestrial wildlife management falls under provincial jurisdiction, while criminal law is a federal matter. This means that even in cases of severe poaching, offenders may face provincial fines but are effectively shielded from the harsher penalties associated with federal criminal law. Additionally, law enforcement agencies are rarely equipped to follow the money. While recent legislative shifts allow financial intelligence to be shared with federal environmental agencies, police forces—the only entities with the authority to investigate money laundering and organized criminal conspiracy—often operate with entirely different operational priorities.
To address this, experts propose a five-step transformation. First, the government must shift its paradigm, treating environmental violations as criminal activity rather than mere regulatory infractions. Second, federal and provincial ministers of justice, public safety, and the environment must dismantle the “ivory towers” currently preventing collaboration. Third, Canada needs an all-of-government approach that treats environmental crime with the same rigor as organized crime, using financial, criminal, and environmental tools in tandem.
Fourth, urgent law reform is required to empower the justice system to go after the proceeds of these crimes. This includes criminalizing egregious offenses and ensuring that penalties are severe enough to deter organized networks. Finally, Canada must step up on the international stage. As a nation whose markets and natural resources are tied to global trade, Canada has a responsibility to support international agreements that enable cross-border investigations. Recent failures, such as the quiet cancellation of a border-security system designed to flag high-risk wildlife imports, underscore the need for a more proactive stance.
As geopolitical tensions rise and natural resources become increasingly valuable, the cost of inaction will only grow. By continuing to ignore the “elephant in the room”—the lack of a coordinated strategy to stop those who destroy nature for profit—Canada remains a weak link in the global effort to uphold the rule of law. It is time for Ottawa to prioritize environmental security with the same urgency it applies to other forms of serious crime.
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