Several experts are calling for the creation of a professional order for biologists in order to better supervise their work and, if necessary, call to order those who do not respect the ethical rules of the profession.
Quebec currently has 46 professional orders. This list includes doctors, nurses, dentists, engineers and lawyers, but also certified administrators, human resources advisers, town planners, bailiffs and translators.
Biologists, despite repeated requests for several years, do not have a professional order. Such an order must be authorized by the Government of Quebec under the Professional Code. The mission of a professional order, let us remember, is to protect the public.
According to Jean-François Girard, a lawyer specializing in environmental law, the absence of a professional order is detrimental to biologists. He believes that such an order would better regulate the practice. “I strongly believe in the virtue of ethics,” he adds.
Biologist Kim Marineau, who has 30 years of experience in the field, also believes that biologists, and the public, would benefit from Quebec agreeing to create a professional order for the profession.
The low recognition of the profession means that everyone can do it. There is no control. There are many biologists who do characterizations without going into the field.
Kim Marineau, biologist
Would a professional order make it possible to correct such situations? “Biologists deserve closer monitoring,” says Marie-Ève Maillé, lecturer at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the University of Sherbrooke and specialist in environmental issues and social acceptability.
A long requested order
Yet biologists have been calling for the creation of a professional order for decades. What is different now is that biologists are no longer the only ones asking for such supervision, argues Marie-Christine Bellemare, president of the Association des biologistes du Québec (ABQ).
An association which has no other power than to withdraw its membership card from a biologist whose practice would be called into question, underlines its president. The ABQ has about 1100 members. According to Mme Bellemare, there are about 3,000 biologists in Quebec.
If the primary mission of a professional order is to protect the public, Marie-Christine Bellemare adds that the latter is increasingly vulnerable to the decisions that are made thanks to the work of biologists. “We now understand better the importance of managing biodiversity well and biologists are in the best position to do so. »
Last December, the ABQ returned to the charge with the support of the Ordre des chimistes to demand the modernization of the Professional Chemists Act. The objective would be to allow biologists and microbiologists to join this professional order instead of creating a new one.
According to Marie-Christine Bellemare, if the file does not materialize, it is because of a lack of political will. “It would take a big scandal to make things happen! »
However, according to Jérôme Dupras, professor in the department of natural sciences at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and specialist in the economic evaluation of ecosystems, a professional order is now essential to deal with environmental issues.
“The creation of a professional order would make it possible to improve essential processes for the protection of the environment, such as the standardization of ecological characterizations, while recognizing the contribution of a profession of great societal importance,” underlines Mr. Dupras.
Reports denounced by experts
According to experts interviewed by The Pressone of the main issues is “reports of convenience”, a practice considered common in the world of environmental expertise.
“It does not surprise me that there are reports of complacency [soumis au ministère de l’Environnement] “says lawyer Jean-François Girard, who also has a background in biology. According to Me Girard, the names of firms “which are favorable to promoters” are generally known in the community.
Biologist Kim Marineau also confirms the existence of “rules of convenience” written for promoters who file authorization requests with the Ministry of the Environment.
Inventories are incomplete or sometimes they are carried out during the wrong time of the year, she specifies. “I’ve even seen an engineer do biological inventories,” adds Ms.me Marineau.
Taking inventories at the wrong time, that’s a classic that we often hear.
Marie-Ève Maillé, lecturer at UQAM and the University of Sherbrooke
For her part, the president of TerraHumana Solutions, the biologist Isabelle-Anne Bisson, does not mince her words. “It’s shameful, the biologists who do these studies. In the scientific community, that would never be accepted. These are documents that are not acceptable. The Ministry of the Environment accepts them. It doesn’t make any sense. »
“There are firms that do this regularly, to make nature disappear,” adds Kim Marineau. Me, my wealth is really my reputation,” she says, pointing out in passing that she sometimes refuses contracts where the conditions do not allow the work to be done properly.
The quality of the reports submitted to the Ministry of the Environment is never evaluated, also underlines Kim Marineau. “It gives nothing to the promoter to put more money for a study if he obtains his authorization by spending less money. »
Civil servants also have to deal with internal pressures to speed up the processing of files, specify the experts consulted by The Press.
For example, according to a directive that came into effect in January 2023, civil servants must now respond to the most recent requests for authorization, explains Philippe Desjardins, communications adviser at the Syndicat des professionels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ).
“The idea seems to be to get good stats within 75 days. It seems that the other requests are not given priority, in order to improve the Department’s statistics,” maintains Mr. Desjardins.
According to Marie-Ève Maillé, the Department is not able to cross-check promoters’ data. “The ministry’s budget has been shriveled for decades. People are retiring. There is a loss of expertise. »
Result ? Analysts at the Ministry of the Environment work with data provided by developers, she notes. “It’s a bit precarious as a basis for a system. »