East Coast Environmental Law Association October 6, 2023

As a host for the 15th meeting of the COP, a signatory, and a country with vast areas of biodiversity on land and at sea, Canada has an enormous responsibility to its present and future residents and to the world to uphold the commitments of the GBF and to take action to protect biodiversity. [...] We have highlighted the strong connection between the GBF goals, the purposes and principles of the Biodiversity Act and EGCCRA, and the five guiding principles that are informing the creation of the Strategy as set out in the Discussion Paper. [...] The Biodiversity Act states that Netukulink is defined by the Mi’kmaq as “the use of the natural bounty provided by the Creator for the self-support and well-being of the individual and the community by achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity or productivity of the environment”. [...] One of the Strategy’s guiding principles, “Connection and Collaboration”, is described as “connecting and collaborating with the Mi’kmaq, land conservation organizations, the public, communities, and other partners to protect and conserve land and water”.15 We agree that connection and collaboration is an important guiding principle, and we recommend that the ongoing process to create the Strategy. [...] Nova Scotia is part of Mi’kma’ki, which are unceded and traditional territories of the Mi’kmaq people, and the leadership and knowledge of the Mi’kmaq will be invaluable and necessary for the Strategy to be successful.