Ottawa could give the green light this week to an emergency decree imposing measures to protect the habitat of three populations of woodland caribou in Quebec, where the large deer “faces imminent threats to its recovery.”
Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault informed his Quebec counterpart Benoit Charette on Monday morning that he had come to the conclusion that “the scope of the measures currently implemented or planned to protect or restore the habitat of the species [au Québec] is considered insufficient” to counter the main threats facing the large deer.
Ottawa’s analysis concludes that caribou habitat “has continued to degrade and populations to decline in at least five ranges,” and that three of these populations face a particularly high degree of risk, namely those of Val-d’Or, Charlevoix and Pipmuacan, straddling the Côte-Nord and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
“Under the Endangered Species ActI must now recommend to the Governor in Council to adopt an emergency decree to protect the boreal caribou,” writes Minister Guilbeault.
The council of ministers could approve this idea at its meeting scheduled for Tuesday, they indicated to The Press sources familiar with the matter, information which has not been confirmed by Minister Guilbeault’s office.
If he obtains the green light, the minister will then conduct consultations in order to develop his decree, in particular to draw up the list of activities to be prohibited and the surface area of the targeted territories in relation to the three most threatened herds, with a view to adoption in the coming months.
Forestry singled out
Logging and the resulting “multi-use roads” are the main threats to the survival of woodland caribou in Quebec, concludes the analysis from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“These are the activities that, to date, have contributed the most to the disruption of habitat in the provincial ranges of the species,” writes Minister Guilbeault.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Ottawa’s analysis concludes that caribou habitat “has continued to degrade and populations to decline in at least five ranges,” and that three of these populations face a particularly high degree of risk, namely those of Val-d’Or, Charlevoix and Pipmuacan.
And these threats are intensifying instead of decreasing, adds the minister, who fears that the Pipmuacan caribou population will cross “the threshold of virtual extinction” within 10 years, which the populations of Val-d’Or and Charlevoix have already done so.
“We have a responsibility not to let the caribou disappear from Quebec forests,” said Minister Guilbeault in a statement sent by his office.
It is high time to act and reverse the trend.
Steven Guilbeault, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change
On the other hand, the woodland caribou is not threatened on a Canadian scale, “because there are local populations in Canada which are considered self-sufficient, whose habitat is very little disturbed and which would not be affected by the threats occurring in Quebec,” underlines Minister Guilbeault.
Quebec strategy damaged
Steven Guilbeault also criticizes the partial protection measures announced by Quebec on April 30 for the forest caribou herds of Charlevoix and mountain caribou of Gaspésie, on the eve of the deadline he had given to the Legault government to announce its strategy of caribou recovery.
“I expected the publication of a global strategy that would respond to the commitments made publicly by the Government of Quebec in August 2022,” writes Minister Guilbeault, referring in particular to the reduction in the rate of disturbance of caribou habitat under the 35% threshold.
“I also note the absence of several essential elements, in particular measures for other [hardes] », adds the minister.
“I invite you to publish as quickly as possible an ambitious strategy for all boreal caribou populations in Quebec,” he concludes.
Precision
A previous version of this text indicated that the federal government could adopt a decree as early as this week, or it could instead give the green light to the preparation of a decree, which would be adopted later. Our apologies.
Biodiversity: where is Quebec’s plan?
Quebec denies not appearing in the federal government’s new strategy to curb the loss of biodiversity in the country. “The protection of biodiversity is a jurisdiction of Quebec and this is why we will shortly make public the Nature 2030 Plan aimed at achieving global targets, including the conservation target of 30% of Quebec territory,” indicated Amélie Moffet , the press secretary of Quebec Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette. His federal counterpart, Steven Guilbeault, openly expressed his disappointment last week at the absence of Quebec in the 2030 Nature Strategy put forward by Ottawa. Quebec is the only province not to have provided its plan. Mme Moffett recalled that the Quebec government is the first in the country to have achieved the United Nations (UN) targets for territorial protection. “We intend to remain a world leader in this area,” she concluded. Quebec’s 2030 Nature Plan has a budget of 444 million over five years for its implementation, i.e. until 2027-2028.
Mylène Crête