The Trudeau government could intervene in Quebec to protect the woodland caribou, has learned The duty. This option is being considered in a context where the Legault government again recently postponed the implementation of a rescue strategy for this increasingly threatened species due to the destruction of its habitat, in particular by the forest industry.
As part of an interview with the Duty, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault noted that the Canadian government is increasingly concerned about the sharp decline of caribou. “We are preparing to write to the Government of Quebec on this issue. I must tell you that, on our side, there are concerns about the issue of caribou in Quebec, ”he argued.
Minister Guilbeault recalled that the woodland caribou is an endangered species which is protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) of Canada under the name of “woodland caribou”. “The Endangered Species Act gives the federal government significant powers. These are not unlimited powers or a magic wand that the minister can use as he pleases. But these are powers that are very important, ”he explained.
“The law obliges us, before intervening, to have negotiations with the provinces, which we are in the process of doing with several provinces. There is an agreement between Quebec and the federal government on caribou. It is clear that there are issues in Quebec on the issue of caribou. And I, as Minister, will have to discuss very soon with my counterparts in Quebec, ”added Steven Guilbeault. His Quebec “counterparts”, in this case, are the Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP), Pierre Dufour, as well as the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette.
Ottawa, which has already criticized the provinces’ lack of ambition in terms of caribou protection, is also considering being more active in the matter, since Minister Guilbeault said he wanted to discuss with the provinces of Ontario, the Manitoba and British Columbia.
“These conversations will take place in the not too distant future and, if the provinces do not respect the commitments they have made to the federal government with regard to the Species at Risk Act, that allows us to intervene”, he warned. “I don’t want to intervene at all costs, no matter what the provinces think. The law is drafted in such a way that negotiation is preferred to intervention. But intervention remains possible if the provinces do not respect the signed agreements. “
Critical habitat
For the Director General of the Society for Nature and Parks of Canada, Quebec section, Alain Branchaud, federal intervention is desirable. “Faced with Quebec’s inaction, the federal government has several options for intervention,” he said. This intervention could in particular specify obligations to protect the “critical habitat” of the cervid, which is well known in various regions of Quebec.
“The Government of Quebec is still in the same dynamic. He wants to save time and put off tough decisions. But as time passes, we see that most of the herds are in decline, ”Mr. Branchaud recalled on Monday. The organization is also analyzing the possibility of launching a legal action in Federal Court in order to force the Government of Canada to intervene in favor of the protection of the woodland caribou.
The Legault government announced at the beginning of November that it was postponing the development of a “strategy” to stop the decline of the woodland caribou. At the same time, he gave a mandate for regional consultations to an “independent commission” which does not include any expert in the species. Its mandate is to conduct public consultations in various regions, namely Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, Côte-Nord, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Nord-du-Québec and Gaspésie. All of these regions have a forestry industry.
Once the commission has made recommendations to Minister Pierre Dufour, the latter should present a caribou conservation strategy in 2023, his cabinet said on Monday.
Time is running out for this species. The most recent inventories carried out by MFFP experts have shown that the situation continues to deteriorate for different populations.
For example, the aerial inventory carried out over 28,000 km2 in the Pipmuacan sector (covering the north of Saguenay − Lac-Saint-Jean and a portion of the North Shore) allowed the population to be estimated at only 225 animals. In other sectors, including those of Manicouagan and the Middle North Shore, experts have counted from a few dozen to a few hundred animals.
Some isolated populations are on the verge of extinction after years of decline. This is the case for the last six caribou in the Val-d’Or region, which were placed in captivity in March 2020. The same picture emerges for those of Charlevoix and those of the Gaspé.