Taunted by the Conservatives, a contingent of the Bloc Québécois led by leader Yves-François Blanchet showed up in Ottawa in the middle of the summer season to ask the federal government to abandon its decree on the protection of the woodland caribou, or at least to put it on hold until the fall.
“I think it is logical, even elementary on the part of the minister, to give the Quebec government at least until September 30 before beginning its consultations,” the Bloc leader said Thursday, surrounded by five of his MPs who travelled for the occasion.
This delay of several months would be justified, according to him, by a recent judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec which requires that the Quebec government launch consultations with the First Nations for its caribou protection strategy.
Since Quebec’s strategy was already falling too far behind in Ottawa’s eyes, the Trudeau government unveiled a decree in June aimed at establishing exceptional protection measures for three caribou herds on the verge of extinction. This decree must, however, be preceded by 60 days of consultations.
Since then, the federal decree has been subject to constant attacks from the Quebec government, the forestry industry, the Conservative Party of Canada, and now the Bloc Québécois, which has called it “dramatic plans” by federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Mr. Blanchet accuses the Montreal minister of being “a little ideological” and of making fun of the consequences for the industry by depriving it of 1.4 million cubic metres of wood per year (or 4% of Quebec’s forestry possibilities), at the same time as allowing the destruction of 37 lakes by the mining industry.
Under fire from conservatives
Quebec Conservative elected officials have spent the week not only denouncing the “job-killing” decree, but also alleging the Bloc Québécois’ complicity in putting it in place. “This federal decree exists because the Bloc voted to keep Justin Trudeau in power in 90% of confidence votes,” reasoned Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, in an exchange on the social network X.
His MP in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, Richard Martel, accuses the Bloc Québécois of refusing an emergency meeting of the parliamentary committee on natural resources, where Minister Guilbeault and representatives of forestry companies would appear. “The Bloc has the power to organize these emergency meetings, but it refuses to get to work and covers for Justin Trudeau,” he accuses.
Yves-François Blanchet was shocked by the attack, saying instead that he was in discussions to organize this meeting next month. He revealed that the Conservatives wanted it to focus on the “alleged threat to the woodland caribou,” while he wanted to remove the word “alleged” to reflect the real threat to the species.
He believes it is possible that a “calm, serious and composed discussion based on knowledge and science” could find “solutions” for compromise between the “extreme” positions of liberals and conservatives, environmental groups and industry, without the need for a federal decree.
In a statement sent to the DutyEnvironment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault says he does not intend to lift his emergency order until the Quebec government submits its own protection plan. “The Bloc Québécois is only seeing the tree and missing the forest. The federal government has trusted the Quebec government’s words for ten years, and it has failed to present a plan to protect and restore caribou in Quebec.”
Struggles in the region
Even though he has mobilized enough of his MPs ready to return to the federal capital in July to fill a standard-sized car, the leader of the Bloc Québécois assures that he does not feel threatened by the popularity of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Poilievre has made the Bloc Québécois his favourite target in French for nearly a year, using hyperbole by speaking of a “Bloc-Liberal coalition.”
Conservatives ‘target one county’ [au Québec] : Chicoutimi-Le Fjord. They are trying to protect Richard Martel,” said Mr. Blanchet, citing from memory the details of the latest polls placing his party in first place in Quebec territory. “I can criticize the Conservatives [et] make a respectful and respectable political offer, decent and based on facts. It has nothing to do with the conservative figures.”
In all other provinces, the Conservative Party of Canada is leading by a wide margin in polls ahead of the next federal election, which must be held no later than the fall of 2025. Meanwhile, a by-election is to be called by the end of the month in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, Quebec.
Even though it is not the “most accessible” riding for the Bloc Québécois in Montreal, Yves-François Blanchet warned his political opponents to “expect a strong presence and a fierce fight from the separatists.”