Extended consultation | Quebec further postpones caribou protection

The Legault government is once again postponing the adoption of caribou protection measures by extending the consultation on the pilot projects announced in April until October 31, we learned The Pressexposing itself even more to the possibility of intervention by the federal government, according to various observers.

Initially set for July 30, the deadline for commenting on projects targeting the very vulnerable herds of mountain caribou of Gaspésie and woodland caribou of Charlevoix is ​​thus postponed by three months.

Quebec unveiled in April a partial plan for habitat restoration, territorial protection, management of uses and regulatory changes for these two herds, instead of a global strategy for protecting all of the dozen or so herds. herds of forest and mountain caribou in the province.

The extension of the consultation was announced without fanfare Monday afternoon to various stakeholders by the Assistant Deputy Minister for Biodiversity, Wildlife and Parks, Jacob Martin-Malus, in an email that The Press obtained.

“We hereby wish to inform you that the public consultation relating to the pilot projects for the woodland caribou population of Charlevoix and the mountain caribou population of Gaspésie and the intentions for regulatory modifications accompanying them is extended until March 31. October 2024,” it is written, without further details.

A press release was then published on Wednesday afternoon, after The Press asked questions on the subject.

“Meanwhile, the caribou waits”

This extension will likely postpone the adoption of any caribou protection measures until next year, fears biologist Alice-Anne Simard, general director of Nature Québec, who has difficulty explaining this new delay.

“We hoped that the regulatory modification processes would begin in the fall, but now it will be necessary [que le gouvernement fasse] analysis of the recommendations, and there will be no new actions taken before 2025,” she laments. Three months adds delays to a parliamentary session. »

At the same time, the overall strategy to protect all of Quebec’s caribou herds is still awaited, underlines M.^me Simard.

Quebec says it has heard the criticism

Quebec justifies this delay by saying that it “heard the requests of local elected officials”, who called for an extension of the consultation.

The pilot project for the protection of mountain caribou in Gaspésie was sharply criticized in particular by the regional county municipality (MRC) of Haute-Gaspésie, which deplored “significant restrictions on access to the territory” hindering the practice of different recreational and tourism activities such as off-piste skiing, hunting and snowmobiling.

“We agreed on a date which allowed, on the one hand, the partners to do diligent work so that they could comment on the regulatory intentions and which, on the other hand, did not significantly modify the initial schedule,” declared to The Press Amélie Moffet, press secretary to the Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks Benoit Charette.

This new deadline, granted under “pressure from lobbies”, compromises the very objective of the caribou protection strategy and “the possibility of a just transition of regional economies”, estimates biologist Alain Branchaud, general director of the section. of the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Quebec).

Towards federal intervention

This new deadline further opens the door to intervention by the federal government to protect “herds under heavy pressure and on the brink of collapse,” believes Alain Branchaud.

“It seems [que le gouvernement Legault] done almost on purpose,” says Alice-Anne Simard, who is of the same opinion as her colleague.

Ottawa has been threatening for months to unilaterally impose, by decree, caribou protection measures in Quebec, and had given Quebec until 1^er May to present a concrete plan.

The pilot projects announced by Quebec on the eve of this deadline could also be perceived as an attempt to satisfy the federal government, underlines Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, professor of animal ecology at the University of Quebec in Rimouski ( UQAR).

But these are only “fine intentions”, and the essential remains to be done, he says, hoping that “some form of moratorium” applies to activities likely to disturb forest areas beneficial to caribou while Quebec extends consultations.